The Knight and the Maiden
by Lia Fail
Summary: The Blue Team travels to Boston while Piotr, Kurt, and the rest of the Gold Team try to pass the time back at the mansion. Kiotr and Romy
1. Default Chapter

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THE KNIGHT AND THE MAIDEN

CHAPTER 1

A/N: This story takes place about 5-6 years in the future. It's a sequel to "Paint By Numbers", and all you need to know if you haven't read that is that Kitty and Colossus fell in love and Remy left the X-Men even though he and Rogue both had feelings for each other. Hope you enjoy the story!

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"Once upon a time there was an evil queen. Her hair was pale and her skin and clothing were pure white, so much so that that the harsh brightness of it stung your eyes and dampened your soul. Whenever her foot touched hallowed ground fire from the depths of hell sprung up, burning it to ash. Yet, because of her beauty, no one in the kingdom but a young maiden saw the evil queen for what she truly was, and although she tried to alert the other's of the woman's deception, her warnings fell upon deaf ears. One day a group of travelers comprised of a goddess of the winds, a fierce warrior, and a gallant knight came to the kingdom, all possessing powers that rivaled the queen's. By chance these travelers befriended the maiden, and she came to care for them, and they for her. But the queen was jealous and fearful of the these new visitors, so she sent her soldiers to capture them. The travelers fought valiantly to protect the maiden and were triumphant in defeating the soldiers, but it was the queen took matters into her own hands, using her evil magics to imprison them. By some unknown means the maiden escaped and vowed to rescue her new found friends, especially the knight, to whom she had given her heart from the moment they had first met. After many fearful nights of running from the queen's hounds, she was able to summon help from the allies of the strange group of travelers. Together, they stormed the fortress of the evil, white Queen and rescued the prisoners, who in turned help to defeat her royal guards. Though all fought bravely, the knight emerged as the hero in this battle, and with his help their victory was sealed. The travelers returned to their kingdom, bringing the maiden with them so that she and her knight could live happily ever after." 

Kitty looked down fondly at the little child snuggled up next to her as she finished her story. The five-year-old girl stared back with intelligent, soulful eyes, a troubled look beginning to form on her young face.

"Why are fairy tales so short?" she asked slowly, as though somewhere just behind those pretty words and storybook endings she had sensed a darkness lurking, waiting to destroy the hero's happily ever after.

Kitty paused. Illyana had asked her that once, a long time ago. She had told her it was so mommies and daddies wouldn't forget the story halfway through when telling it to their children. Illyana had laughed. It was child's laughter, innocent and pure, laughing at the world but never at her. "It's a trick question, silly," the blonde girl had told her. "Fairies don't have tails, they have wings," she had managed to choke out in between her giggles. But little Illyana was very different from the girl sitting next to her. Anyone who looked into this child's solemn green eyes could see she was an old soul, already wise beyond her years. Kitty contemplated telling her a lie, giving her the comforting answer most children want to hear, but she knew she would see through it. She always did.

"Fairy tales are short because if the story went on any longer, the ending wouldn't be so happy."

Rachel nodded. "Like my parents?" she asked quietly.

Kitty bit her lip, unsure of how to answer. "Your parents had the ending they always hoped for. They had you." The little girl looked unconvinced. "Do you want to call your dad, Ray?"

She shook her head, her red ponytail bouncing from side to side. "I want you to stay. I don't get to see you much. And Daddy has lots of work to do 'cause he's leader. 'Sides, I make him sad. I remind him too much of Mommy."

She stroked her hair. "Your dad loves you," she assured her. "And reminding him of Jean is a good thing."

"I guess."

"Poor little one," she cooed sympathetically. "You miss your home, don't you? I know you hate coming here for the tests, but it's just one of those things we need to do to make sure you're safe. It's like tying your shoes."

Rachel scrunched up her nose in distaste.

"You. Hate. Tying. Your. Shoes." she said, poking her lightly in the arm after each word. Rachel giggled as she squirmed at each poke, trying to grab Kitty's hand. "But you tie them anyway. And why is that?"

"So I don't trip over the laces and crack my skull," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Right. It's just one of those things you have to do to keep you healthy. And safe."

By this point the redhead had finally gotten a hold of Kitty's hand, and had stopped listening to her words in favor of examining her light pink fingernails under the reading lamp, searching for any chips in the polish.

Kitty looked out through the glass balcony doors and watched the dark waters of the North Sea churn against the shore of the island. "I know how you feel, Ray," she said in a faraway voice that recaptured the little girl's attention. "Sometimes you wish none of this ever happened to you. That you could just go back and change it all. That you could be normal."

"No!" she cried out, fear in her voice as she dropped her hand. "If that happened, then I couldn't see into other people's heads. Then I'd really be alone," she whimpered, on the verge of tears.

"Oh, Ray I'm sorry. Don't worry. It's alright, that won't happen," she soothed, giving the little girl's shoulder a little squeeze. "Besides, you'll always have me, no matter what. Okay?"

"Okay," she agreed, still sniffling. "Will you stay until I fall asleep, Aunt Kitty?"

"Whenever you need a friend kiddo, I'll be there."

She looked up at her pensively for a moment with those deep green eyes, eyes that bored in to her deepest corners of her mind.

Rachel finally spoke. "I think you need a friend, too."

"_Damn telepaths,_" Kitty thought to herself. "_They hear everything_."

And for the first time that night, Rachel smiled.

"Aunt Kitty?"

"Yeah Ray?

"I heard that."

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Kitty sat on the countertop and ate her cereal. Normally, she would have been at her usual spot at the table, but it was currently occupied by her two of her Excalibur teammates, Brian and Meggan, and a certain five year old telepath. Taking up the space in the chair next to Rachel was Bamf, a two foot tall stuffed animal bearing an uncanny resemblance to Nightcrawler, which Rachel was, at the moment, dotingly pretending to feed and care for. Kitty smiled to herself as she watched the red haired child scold Bamf for not drinking his orange juice, nostalgic for her own Martin and Lockheed.

"Who were they?" the little girl asked out of nowhere.

"Who were who?" Meggan asked, eyes alive with curiosity, delighted that Rachel was allowing her to feed the little version of Nightcrawler a muffin. Brian gently took his girlfriend's hand and placed it back on her lap like a proper British women, trying to honor her requests to help teach her to become more cultured. But what he didn't understand was that Meggan only wanted to learn to make him happy, and so this lesson ended like most of the others, with the elemental mutant pouting quietly. Meggan was too much a free spirit for rules and manners. In many ways, she was more of a child than Rachel.

The young telepath gave Brian a disapproving look before handing Meggan another muffin. "Lockheed and Martin. Who were they?" she asked again.

"Just some stuffed toys I had when I was younger," Kitty told her nonchalantly through a mouthful of cereal. "Like Bamf." She swallowed and pointed at Rachel with her spoon. "And what did I tell you about going into people's heads?"

Rachel ignored the scolding, busy putting her hands over her stuffed animal's ears.

"Bamf's not a toy. He's real," she said defensively, but with a hint of worry creeping into her voice.

"Of course he's real," Kitty assured her, guilty over her slip of tongue. Spending most of her time surrounded by the X-Men in Westchester or here on Muir didn't leave Rachel with many opportunities to make any friends her own age, so over time she had invented one in Bamf. Her father once confided to her that his daughter's attachment to the toy worried him, but Kitty never thought it was strange. She remembered how soothing Martin was when she was young, and how she had loved Lockheed from the second Peter had handed that little purple dragon to her. But she didn't think about that anymore. Lockheed and Martin were just two more old memories in some box in some corner of an attic, gathering dust. She had packed them away long ago.

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"Ouch! Damn it," she muttered as a small trickle if blood slid down her hand. "Shotty British craftsmanship," she grumbled, looking crossly at the nail that had cut her protruding from the underside of the _Midnight Runner_, Excalibur's preferred form of aerial transportation. "You know," she said out loud to the empty hanger, "This would have never happened if Brian hadn't drunk proofed the plane."

"Isn't it your fault your teammates have drinking problems? Afterall, I for one never needed to touch alcohol until I met you."

Kitty turned around to see a familiar handsome face framed by coal black hair on the com screen, his sapphire eyes sparkling with wry amusement. "Yeah right. How long have you been watching me, Pete?"

"Not long. The furball just patched me through. Hard as this may be for you to believe, luv, watching you talk to yourself like a bloody lunatic isn't exactly my idea of entertainment."

"You know it's funny Wisdom, I think I actually prefer you after you've had your morning cigarettes and Screwdriver. You're much more pleasant drunk and full of poison."

Before their banter could continue, Kurt bamfed in. Kitty wrinkled her nose, still not used to the smell even after all this time.

Pete smirked at Kitty's expression. "Pity smell can't travel through the magic of fiber optics, eh Pryde?"

"We pay you to get us information Wisdom, not to make wise cracks. Now, what exactly is this all important information we needed to hear?' Kurt asked the team's informant.

"Got some people nosin' around Braddock Manor. Since that place belonged to one of you, I thought you might want be interested," he told them, an air of professionalism creeping into his usually drole voice.

"And what exactly is going on there?"

"Don't know. But I've heard rumors about that place. They say there's something unnatural down there, some kind of strange weapon or technology or something. Whatever it is, Black Air wants it."

Kitty and Kurt looked at each other in alarm.

"I think it's time Brian and I have a little talk on what he keeps in that old house of his. Thank you for the information, Wisdom."

"Long as you don't ask me to wear bloody spandex, I'm happy to help."

"Goodbye, Mr. Wisdom," Kurt said tersely.

"Nightcrawler." He looked over at Kitty and winked. "Pryde."

Kurt looked at Kitty in surprise after the com screen had gone dark. "Something going on between you two?"

"Fuzzy, I've never even met the man in person, just on the com-screen." Kurt stared at her doubtfully. "What? It's just flirting. Am I not allowed to flirt now?" She rolled her eyes, irritated by his disapproving gaze. "You know, we can't all be as perfect as you and Amanda."

"Katchzen-"

"Would it make you happier if I spent my whole life alone?" she demanded.

"Of course not Katchzen," he said gently. "It's only your possible choice of men that concerns me. I just want to see you happy again. Like you were when-"

"You know what Kurt?" she interrupted, turning her back to him. "Just go talk to Brian."

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"Daddy!" Rachel yelled, rushing towards her father, who had just entered the Med Lab with Rogue.

The X-Men's team leader bent down and stretched out his arms, enveloping his daughter in a tight hug. _"Figures,"_ Kitty thought to herself. _"He leaves her here alone and scared for two weeks so Moira can run tests on her psi-abilities again, then expects her to forgive and forget just because he gives her a hug. And because he's her daddy, she does."_

Kitty shook her head and turned her attention to her friend, delighted to see a familiar new face on the lonely island. "How are you Rogue?" she asked warmly.

"Ah'm fine. Pretty good, actually. But look at you! You cut your hair," she said, noticing her former teammate's shoulder length cut.

"Yeah, about a year ago. You like it?" she asked, fingering the ends self-consciously.

"It's different. Ah'll have to get used to it before Ah can figure out if Ah like it. What made you cut it?"

"It was time for a change."

"It looks nice, Kitty," Scott interjected as he moved closer to Rogue, still holding his daughter in his arms. "See Rachel, change can be a good thing, right?"

"No," she said flatly, glowering at Rogue as she tightened her hold around her father's neck.

The Southerner tried not to notice the girl's angry stare. "So how are you sweetie? Feelin' better?" she asked kindly, rustling the top of the Rachel's head with a gloved hand.

The young telepath pointedly ignored her, turning to look at her father instead. "Yesterday Kitty and Kurt took me on a walk near the ocean, and I saw a seal, and then I saw a dolphin, and then I saw two more dolphins after that, and I wanted you to see them, too. Today, can you go with me so we can look for more animals?" she asked hopefully, her perceptive eyes fixed upon her father's face. Without warning her eager smile disappeared and her lowered lip trembled before she clenched it into a thin tight line. "Just you," she added darkly.

"I'm sorry kiddo, I just don't have the time today. We have a mission that's really important. I barely managed to get away to say hi to you as it is," he explained, setting his daughter back down on the ground, her expression growing more miserable by the second.

Both Rogue and Kitty could see that little Rachel was crestfallen, but Scott didn't seem to notice.

"You know what, Ray? Moira has a few more tests to run on you, and by the time your finished we'll all be back, ready to take you home," she soothed, placing a reassuring kiss on the crown of her head. Rachel gave Kitty a grateful smile.

"And Ah'll make sure we get your dad back to you as soon as possible," Rogue supplied, trying to help cheer the small child up.

"I don't need your help," Rachel muttered, just loud enough for the women to hear as all three adults exited the Med Lab. Rogue pursed her lips together, a hurt look on her face, and Kitty shot her a sympathetic smile. Scott was oblivious. Kitty shook her head. He was a very different father than Peter had been.

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"So what's this mission you were talking about?" Shadowcat asked her former teammates as they headed down the cold metal corridors of the Muir Island Complex towards the Briefing Room.

"Braddock Manor. Kurt said you knew," Scott said over his shoulder as he walked briskly in front of his teammates, not wanting to be late.

"We were just gonna check it out. He didn't say anything about you guys coming with us," she told him as the two girls quickened their pace to keep up with him.

"Kurt called us back in the states before I left to pick up Rachel. Betsy was anxious about what was going on, what with Braddock Manor being her home, too. Since we were already on the way over here, we thought our we'd make it a joint mission. At the very least it will be a good practice in case our teams need to work together in the future," he informed her, already beginning to shift into leader mode.

"Who is this Black Air anyway, Kit? We haven't dealt with them before."

"That because they've seemed to have confined their activities to Britain, at least for now. They're a government sanctioned spy organization, but they have their fingers in a hell of a lot of pies. Over the last few months they've taken control a number of divisions they should have no jurisdiction over. Last week our mole told us they shut down the Weird Happenings Organization. That's the third division they've taken over this month. We're not clear on exactly what their ultimate goal is, but we've dealt with them long enough to know whenever they're up to something, it's never good. Besides, it's probably just world domination. It's always world domination."

"Good to know," Cyclops said. "Of course, we'll have to go over this again so everyone can hear it. That is, if they haven't already started without us."

"Everyone's already in there?" Rogue asked, surprised.

"I told the team to meet in here at one o'clock and it's almost fifteen after. We're the only ones late," he reminded her, shifting further into leader mode. "Spent too much time in the Med Lab," he grumbled.

"Kitty-" Rogue put her hand on her friend's forearm as the mechanical doors slid open.

Kurt was in the seat facing the door, as was expected of the team leader. On his left sat Meggan and Captain Britain, who was standing. Both were in the midst of what looked to be a pleasant conversation with Psylocke, Brian's twin sister. To Kurt's right there was a seat left open for Kitty, which Logan stood behind. Iceman and Beast filled out the rest of the table with Storm, Cannonball, and Wolfsbane standing in the back.

Kitty smiled at them walked to her chair, Rogue on her heels. It was a bittersweet experience, to see all these faces that reminded her of what her life had once been.

It wasn't until she was halfway to her seat that she even noticed he was there. He was standing back in the shadows behind Sam and Rahne, his steel skin blending in with the metallic walls of the briefing room. She hadn't been expecting him. Peter had left the X-Men nearly two years ago, left her when she needed him the most, without even saying goodbye. He never even told her why he went away. And now it appeared he was back with the X-Men, and no one had even bothered to tell her.

"Sorry, Kit. That's what I was tryin'-," Rogue whispered from behind her.

Kitty waved it off, trying to will herself not to feel anything, knowing if she did she would break down right there on the briefing room floor. So she pushed her feelings away, not letting her emotions show. She was good at doing that. She had learned from the best. As she sat down, Logan put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She smiled gratefully at him and he gave her shoulder a little squeeze before making a brief motion with his head towards Kurt. Kitty looked to her fuzzy blue friend sitting next to her, staring with concern. She nodded to him and he hesitated slightly before he turned to face the crowd and began the briefing.

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Hope you liked this! The next chapter will explain more of the past. And the Romyness will pop up soon (You don't really think I'd leave her with Scott, do you? That would be icky. I'm not a Scott fan, can you tell?). I know I said I would post Friday, but I finished early and was too excited to wait. Chapter 2 will be up next Thursday. I would be very grateful if you left a review, they give my life meaning. :)

oldprydefan- Thank you! I was grinning like an idiot at that scene too. I wasn't going to put that in, but the Brood Kiotr moments were too important to me to leave out. It's probably my favorite arc, so much is going on but every character is portrayed right and everyone gets a moment to shine, even Illyana and Stevie, and the first appearance of a certain purple alien. It even made me care about Storm again. Plus, it has that cute little scene where Peter picks up Kitty and spins her around, not to mention the fact that it was followed up by "Professor Xavier is a Jerk!" I could go on about this forever. Anyway, hope you like the sequel!

Dark-bat- You think this is one of the best fics you've ever read? Coming from you that's a HUGE compliment. Thank you so much! Oh and by the way, tacos make me sick too.

Danfred- I know what you mean. The lack of Kiotr fics makes me sad too, even though most of the ones that do exist are usually pretty good. Hope you like this story!

alygny- Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. I hope you like this story too.

KittieKat8- I'll make it up to Rogue and Remy, I promise! And thank you for wishing me good luck, maybe that's the reason I haven't had any trouble with writer's block. :)

ishandahalf- Sorry to depress you! Maybe it will make you feel better to know that I already started writing the Romy chapters. I think their cute, but it's my first time writing them together as more than background characters, so I hope I'm getting it right.

DemonRogue13- Thank you! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

B- Yeah, I felt bad for Rogue and Remy too, but I needed that ending for the sequel. As for Kitty's button-bypass move, mutant powers have to be good for something besides fighting bad guys, right?

Star-of-Chaos- Oh, I got a sad face from you? Then I guess I'll have to fix the whole Romy situation to make it better. I think Chapter 3 will make you pretty happy

The Uncanny R-Man- Yeah, the space issue was the one was referencing. Issue #165, I think. I love the whole Brood Saga because it had such great characterization and Paul Smith artwork. And as for Rogue and Remy in my story, don't feel too bad for them, things will get better in the near future.


	2. Chapter 2

**_THE KNIGHT AND THE MAIDEN_**

_**CHAPTER 2**_

Disclaimer- Still don't own the X-Men. Maybe one day.

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"Aunt Kitty, can you please tell me another fairy tale? A real one this time. And I wanna hear the whole thing."

Kitty groaned inwardly. She was beginning to think Rachel was never going to let her go to sleep. "Aren't you even a little tired yet, Ray?"

"Unh-Unh. Come on, Kitty. Please?" she begged.

"Alright, I give in. Let's see, you want a fairy tale?"

"Only if it's a real one."

"Ok. Well then, once upon a time there was a young maiden and a knight-"

"Is this the same maiden and knight from before?

"In a way. Now, as I was saying_- The knight and the maiden were very much in love, but the maiden was promised to someone else. Yet their love was strong and pure, enough so that the maiden was able to break away from the one to whom she was bound and return to her knight. And, for a time, they were happy. But the knight had left his village to be with his love, and without him there it was very much vulnerable. Evil fell upon them, and it so happened that the knight's good mother and father were lost bravely defending their lands against soldiers of the state. The knight despaired at this news, blaming himself and his absence as cause for this tragedy. But all was not lost, he still had his beloved maiden, and Snowflake, his little sister, who had survived the attack that destroyed their home. He and the maiden fostered Snowflake, and in only a short while came to love her as though she was their own child. And although she remembered and missed her own parents, she grew to love these two others in much the same way. As the seasons passed, they spent many happy days together. But in the night, Snowflake's memories would haunt her and the dreams would come, visions so terrible that not even her loyal protector, Martin the Dragon, could keep them away. So the knight and the maiden would stay with her, one on each side, until morning came and sunlight chased the nightmares away._

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Peter stood on the edge of the cliffs, hurling rocks into crashing surf below. The little he had seen of Muir Island did not impress him. It was summer, and still the isle was cold and bitter and dark. He hated the thought of Kitty living on this wasteland.

Next to him he heard a faint bamf and the stench of brimstone filled the air.

"Nice day," Kurt said.

"It is?" he scoffed.

"It is for Muir. Brought you some coffee," he offered, handing him a cup. "I have to warn you though, it's Moira's special blend. It's what most consider to be an acquired taste. Much like Katzchen's cooking."

Peter took a sip and grimaced. "It is pretty terrible," he agreed.

"The cooking or the coffee?"

"Both."

Kurt laughed while Peter smiled half-heartedly. Their conversation lulled and he threw another rock in to the ocean, watching the water and sea mist splash up into the air from the impact before falling back into the waves.

"When did you rejoin the X-Men?"

Peter jumped at the sound of his friend's voice. He had been so focused on the sea below him that he had nearly forgotten Kurt was even there.

"Almost a month."

"What made you decide to come back?" he pressed.

"I had nowhere else to go." He took another sip of coffee. "So team leader, huh? Congratulations, Kurt."

"Thanks," he said, watching as Peter wandered a few feet away to pick another rock from the ground. He came back, throwing the stone up in the air and catching it repeatedly. "You know I gave everyone a half an hour break before the mission so they could unwind. Maybe have a little reunion with old friends. You should be in there with them, Peter. I believe Kitty would be happy to see you."

"I think we both know she wouldn't." He stopped tossing the rock and held it in his palm, his arms dropping to his sides.

"And whose fault is that?" Kurt asked, bothered with his friend's detached behavior.

"I know it's mine!" he said harshly, his fist clenching tighter around the stone.

"I apologize. I did not come here to blame you. It's just... mien gott Peter, why did you have to leave her? Then, of all times?"

"I remember..." he started quietly after a long silence. "I remember the night my parent's died. Illyana was visiting us then. We had taken her to the zoo earlier that day. She had wanted to see the dragons." He gave a small laugh. "Dragons," he muttered.

Kurt smiled encouragingly at his friend. He had no idea where Peter was going with this, but from the sound of his voice it was something he'd been needing to get off is chest for a long time.

"We came back late from the city that night, but Snowflake was still awake. She said she was still too excited to sleep."

"Yeah, well what do you expect after you let her eat three snow cones? Not to mention she started out the day with a big bowl of Sugar Bombs. Really Petey, what kind of example are you going to set for your sister?" Kitty asked in mock frustration as the car pulled into the drive.

"That in America we let you eat as much junk food as you like so she should visit more often," he joked, opening the door of the SUV to help his sister out. "Besides, she is a good girl. I tried to buy her a corn dog and she told me she didn't want one."

"That's because I don't eat meat. I'm a vegy-" Illyana struggled with the word- "vegytarin. Like Katya," she said proudly.

"Do you mean a vegetarian?"he corrected, amused by her answer.

"Uh-huh," she said brightly.

"Since when?" Kitty asked.

"Oh, since always."

"Really? You did not seem to mind meat yesterday when you ate that entire hamburger," Piotr teased. Illyana stuck her tongue out at him.

"The professor was waiting for us in the foyer when we got back. He said he needed to speak with me, so I gave Illyana to Katya and she went upstairs to put her to bed. I do not really know what happened in the next few minutes. I suppose Xavier told me about my parents, and I must have somehow gotten up to my room. The next thing I remember is sitting on the edge of my bed, looking at Katya standing at the edge of the door to my room, peeking her head in. She knocked softly on the door frame and called my name out. I made no acknowledgement of her presence. I just kept looking straight ahead across the hall into my sister's room, staring at her sleeping outline."

"This is my fault. I should have been there, I could have protected them. Instead I killed them."

"No. Listen to me. This is not your fault. You did nothing wrong. And if you hadn't been here, then your sister would have been visiting, and we could have lost her, too."

"But I don't understand why this happened. My parents have never been anything but good, hardworking people. Why would anyone attack them, let alone my own country?"

"I don't know, Peter. I'm sorry."

"How am I going to do this? How am I going to raise my sister all alone?"

"You wont. We'll raise her together. And we'll love her. We'll love her enough for you and me and your mama and papa and even for Mikhail. We'll love her and we'll love each other and everything will be okay," she promised.

"She promised me, and I believed her. I had to. But you can't promise something like that, can you. We decided to let Illyana sleep, that it would be better to tell her tomorrow. After that, there was nothing left to say, so I cried. She had never seen me cry before that day, but it didn't matter. She just hugged me and whispered she loved me over and over again until we fell asleep in each others arms."

Peter closed his eyes, breathing in the smell of the salt air as the cold winds beat aganist his face while he cleared his mind, allowing the memory to flow.

Kitty stirred in his arms, a quiet, contented sigh escaping from her lips. He watched as her eyes fluttered open and she gazed sleepily at him.

"Hi."

"Hi," he responded, a strange look on his face. Kitty couldn't tell if he was trying to hold back tears or a smile.

"Oh Peter, what's going on inside your head?" she asked, reaching up to run her fingers through his dark hair.

"There is something I forgot to say to you last night."

"What?" she prodded gently.

"I love you."

"Peter -"

"I woke up last night, after you fell asleep, and I was watching you sleep, and the moon, it was shining down on you. You looked...you looked dead. Your skin was so blue and pale and I was afraid to move. I thought if I stayed still and didn't do anything that might wake you that I wouldn't know for sure if you were gone or just sleeping. I don't ever want to lose you. All I want to do is hold you in my arms for the rest of my life. Marry me, Katya. Be my wife. Please. I love you so much."

Kitty inched a little closer to Peter and kissed him on the lips, her hand still fingering his hair.

"Is that a yes?" he asked hopefully.

"No, that's a no. I love you too, Peter, and I want to marry you one day. But not like this. When you're ready, when your heart has healed a little more, then you can ask me again. But not now."

"Why not?" he asked moodily, pulling away from her and sitting on the edge of the bed.

Kitty crawled across the bed and put her arms around him.

"Because it wouldn't be real."

He turned his head and stared at her with wounded eyes, but deep down she could see he knew this was the right choice to make. Across the hall the sound of cartoons on the television drifted into their room, and a look of panic came over him.

"She's awake. I have to go tell her now, don't I?"

"Yeah. We have to go tell her."

He focused back on Kitty, and a ghost of a smile came across his face as he stared into her eyes.

"I really do love you, Katya."

"I know. I love you too."

He finished telling Nightcrawler the story the same moment the memory ended. He hadn't even realized he had been talking.

Kurt had a hard time understanding. Peter had been slipping back and forth between English and Russian, and there were times he stood quietly with a look on his face that made Kurt think the story was still going on in his mind, but he had forgotten to say it out loud. Still, he knew the point behind the story. It was Peter's way of telling him he still loved Kitty. There was just one thing he still didn't get.

"What does this have to do with why you left Kitty?"

Piotr looked down at the rock in his hand. His skin was white from the pressure and he had to use his free hand to pry apart his fingers. Already the skin of his palm was starting to turn purple and bruise.

"Everything. It has everything to do with it."

* * *

Kitty stood at the observation window to the Med Lab, watching as Moira prepared Rachel for a C.A.T scan. Behind her she heard the sound of footsteps too light to be a mans, but still strong enough to give off an air of purpose and strength.

"Hello, Rogue," she said without turning around.

"After all this time you can still recognize the sound of my footsteps?"

"Old ninja tricks die hard, I guess."

"Logan would be proud to hear that. You know he's pretty angry right now. Storm and Beast are doin' their best to calm him down. He and Peter haven't been gettin' along real well since he got back, and Ah think they're afraid he might try an' start a fight with him."

"Good."

"You don't really mean that?"

"No. I don't know," she responded, turning her attention back to watching Moira and Rachel through the window.

"Kit, maybe you should talk to him. At least be in the same room as him. What are ya doin' here?" she prodded gently.

"Shouldn't the question be what is Scott not doing here?" she demanded.

"He had to do extra work since Kurt disappeared somewhere after you left. Besides, he doesn't like to see her like this-"

"And you think she likes it? She's hates these tests. And no matter how many times I lie to her, I'm not even sure if she needs any of this."

"That's not fair!" Rogue said defensively. "Scott's only trying to do what's best for her. Besides, Moira's a doctor. Why would she go along with this if she thought it was unnecessary?"

"Because Scott's playing on her own fears. Mutant children growing so powerful that they go insane is kind of a sore spot for her!"

"Look, just because you're mad at Peter doesn't mean you should project all your anger on Scott. Besides, it's not like Peter was that great of a father either." Before the words had finished leaving her mouth Rogue had closed her eyes in regret. "Kitty, Ah'm sorry. Ah-

"Peter was a good father," she argued, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Ah know."

"No, you don't. Because you never really saw it. None of you did. And you need to see it."

Without warning, Kitty reached up and touched the exposed skin on Rogue's face, focusing hard on the memory she wanted her friend to see.

"Good morning!" Kitty chirped as she, Peter, and Illyana entered the busy kitchen. "Sleep well?" she asked to no one in particular as they headed towards the table.

Her question was met by a chorus of halfhearted "hellos" and "good mornings".

"Hello Rachel girl," Kitty said, looking over at the toddler happily playing with Cheerios in her high chair . The little redhead looked up and sneezed "Ohh, do you have the sniffles? Good thing you have Mommy to take care of you," she cooed as Jean walked up with a sippy cup and a bottle of cough syrup for her daughter. "So what's for breakfast?" she asked, sitting down next to Illyana.

"Your favorite," Peter told her from his spot on the other side of the blond haired girl. "Bacon and eggs."

Illyana scrunched up her nose.

"I know how you feel," Kitty told her, looking at the greasy strips of bacon in front of her. "I'll make us something else."

"Katya, Illyana did not do anything wrong. Why are you punishing her?" Peter teased.

"Haha,very funny, but I think I can handle popping some frozen French Toast in the oven."

"Can I have a cookie instead, Mommy?"

"No Snowflake, cookies are not for breakfast," she heard Peter tell her as she walked over to the counter where Jean was putting away Rachel's medication.

"She calls you Mommy?" Jean asked softly, a hint of surprise in her voice.

"Yeah, and she calls Peter daddy. She started it about two days ago" Kitty told her uncomfortably. "It was after she had a bad dream about me and Peter going away like her mama and papa. She came to our room to find us but we were downstairs in the kitchen. It scared her."

"Are you ok with this?"

"Why shouldn't I be?"

"Is Peter?"

Kitty looked back at the table where Illyana was laughing at something Peter had said. If they weren't careful the little girl was going to end up with the same odd sense of humor as him. Both looked happier than they had been in a long time.

"See for yourself," she told her.

"You have a point. Do you mind if I steal your little girl for a few minutes?"

"Go ahead."

Jean walked over and picked up Rachel out of her high chair. "Illyana, I need to get Reachel into some new clothes. She managed to spill all over these. Do you want to help me pick some new ones out?"

"Ok" she said excitedly.

"Hey, what about your breakfast?" Kitty asked.

"Oh, that's ok Mommy. Daddy gave me a cookie when you weren't looking."

"Peter!"

"Illyana!" he said, giving her a surprised look. She giggled as she followed Jean upstairs. "I couldn't help it!" he protested as Kitty frowned at him. "She gave me the sad face."

Kitty tried to hold back a laugh over the repentant look on his face. "Come on. Let's go for a walk, big guy," she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the backyard. They walked quietly for awhile until they came to the lake. Peter picked a rock off the ground and threw one in. Kitty stared at him.

"Why are you sad?" she asked quizzically.

"I am not sad," he protested.

"Peter, I know you. You chop wood when you're angry. You come here when you're sad."

"That's only because this lake holds a lot of happy memories for me," he told her, putting his arms around her.

"Our first kiss," she said, standing on her tip toes to give him a peck on the lips.

"Da, but it's more than that," Peter told her, letting go of her and walking closer to the water's edge. "I cared for you, deeply, for a long time after we first met. But the first day we spent here together, that was the day I fell in love with you. I came that day to honor my brother, and in doing so I found you. I like to think Mikhail had a part in it, that he found a way to bring us together. That he is still watching over his little brother."

"I'm sure he is. But that still doesn't explain why you needed to come out here,"Kitty said, walking next to him.

Peter threw another rock in to the lake. As he brought his arm down Kitty grabbed his empty hand and held it tight.

"Oh no, you are not shutting me out, mister. I wont let you. Now you know how stubborn I can be, so it'll be easier on us both if you just tell me what you're thinking."

Peter turned to face her, a smile coming across his face.

"Right now I am thinking it might be fun to throw you into the water instead of this rock," he said, pulling her into his arms again.

"You wouldn't."

"And why not?"

"Because it's early, and I haven't had my coffee. And if you do that you know I'll kick your butt."

"Oh really?"

"Well, maybe not. It's such a cute butt after all."

"See? I told you the lake works. I feel better already," he told her, bending down to kiss her deeply.

"Good," she said after they broke apart. "But you're not off the hook yet. Not until you tell me why you were upset."

He stared at her for a moment, evaluating how serious she was being, then nodded. "Our first kiss seems like a million years ago, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, but it was only a little less than two."

"A lot has changed since then. Even more so after my parents died. Because now we have Illyana. It's strange, when I look at her, I don't see her as my sister anymore. I see her as my daughter, and it makes me wonder if that is how she sees herself. She calls us Mommy and Daddy now, Kitty. And when I hear that I feel so proud and full of love and happy. My parents are dead, and I am happy. Because I have my Katya, and we have our little girl. Except she is not ours."

"She calls us Mommy and Daddy instead of Mama and Papa because she knows were different from them. But the love's the same."

"But are we not erasing my parents memory from her?" he asked forlornly.

"She remembers them Peter, and we will never let her forget them. But all I know is that you both deserve some happiness. And the last ten months have been better than any of us could have expected them to be. She may not be my blood, but she's my daughter, at least in all the ways that count. And we couldn't love her more if she were our own."

"You are a very good mother, Katya."

"And you're a wonderful father, Piotr. Now come on, let's go back to the house. Cause I don't think I ever took the French Toast out of the oven."

"Rogue?"

Kitty's memory faded from her as a male voice called out her name.

"Rogue? Shadowcat? It's time to go," Scott said, walking up behind them.

Rogue still felt a little woozy, but the look Kitty gave her seemed to be imploring her not to tell Scott what had happened. She knew Scott would probably end up giving them a lecture about putting themselves in danger right before a mission.

"Ready to go, Kit?" Rogue asked cheerfully, throwing her arm around Kitty's shoulder for support. Kitty smiled a silent thank you. Behind them, Scott looked sadly at through the observation window at his daughter, then turned and walked away.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it! I know this chapter was pretty much all flashbacks, but the main story will continue in the next chapter. And thanks for all the reviews!

KittieKat8- Don't worry, I can't keep Kitty and Peter apart for too long. It makes me sad. Kitty will get a chance to be happy soon, but you never know how long it's going to last ;)

Lucas'sgirl- Wisdom's part was probably just a one time thing, I mostly put him in just because I like making little "Excalibur" references. There will be some twists coming up soon, so I hope you like those!

SperryDee- A little bit of Kitty and Peter's past was told in this chapter, but there's still a lot more to go. A good portion of it is explained next chapter, hopefully you find it surprising, or at the very least unexpected. ;)

ishandahalf- Pete probably wont be showing up again, but I wanted to throw him into the story at least once. I have a strange affection for Pete Wisdom. I wanted to hate him for getting between Kitty and Piotr, but under Warren Ellis's pen I couldn't help but like him, which only made me hate him even more. But I know what you mean about intensely sarcastic British guys, after all I loved Spike from "Buffy". And about Scott and Rogue, it will all be explained in time....

DemonRogue13- The depth of the Scott/Rogue friendship will be more clear in chapter 7 or so when Rogue explains it to a certain mutant. I originally wanted to make Scott a total bastard just because I hate him so much in the comics, but then I felt bad for Rachel, so I made him nicer, but Iike Rogue too much to stick him with her :)

B- Glad you liked it! As for the foreshadowing, most of the backs tory is explained at the end of chapter 3. And I had to work in the Bamf doll cause it's just so lovable. I always wished Marvel would start selling those. They'd be even better than Care Bears!

Star-of-Chaos- Peter had a reason for leaving, I promise! But it won't get fully explained for awhile. And sorry to say that chapter 3 got pushed back to chapter 4, but the romyness has not been forgotten!

oldprydefan- I'm so happy you liked it! And Rachel just seemed like the natural choice to put in this story, especially since she and Kitty ended up on different teams for Reload. Of course, much as I like Rachel, I absolutely adore Illyana, so she had to be a part of this story, too. They'll be a little more of her in the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

****

THE KNIGHT AND THE MAIDEN

****

CHAPTER 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-men. If I did, Cyclops would be dead.

* * *

Kurt was speaking. He should be paying attention. Generally, that was the good thing to do when you're about to be sent underground into the catacombs of an old British mansion possibly teeming with spies and your field leader is giving you orders. But he couldn't keep his attention away from starring at her. Or, to be more accurate, at finding a way to stare at her while still looking as though he wasn't.

Peter knew he shouldn't have come. He should have stayed back at the mansion, alone. But he needed to see her in person again, even if it was just this once. In all the time they spent apart, not a day had gone by without her passing in and out of his mind like a ghost, haunting him with her warm brown eyes. She was as beautiful as he remembered, even with her lovely chestnut curls cut short. And there was a confidence and poise about her that he didn't recognize from before, and a serious, professional expression on her face that still couldn't hide the gentle compassion that radiated from within. As he watched, a look of surprise from Kurt's instructions came over her face, briefly followed by something resembling panic before she composed herself, returning to her former somber expression as she approached him.

"Katya, it is-"

She held up her hand to silence him.

"Boss man says I'm supposed to work with you, so that's what I'll do. But don't call me that. Please," she whispered the last word, almost begging, her eyes never straying from the ground below her.

"Kurt, are ya sure those two should be together?" Rogue asked, watching the awkward conversation play out between the former lovers from a safe distance.

"Ja. Without a doubt."

"Even so, maybe I should be going with them," she suggested to her foster brother. He nodded in agreement.

"Psylocke, change of plans. You're going with Storm and I," he instructed the purple haired ninja.

"Actually, I think that I-" she protested, staring over towards Peter before Kurt cut her off.

"Trust me, this way is better. Rogue knows how to handle those two. Besides, how could I pass up the chance to work with two beautiful freulins?" he asked with his usual swashbuckling charm. "As for you-" he gave a wry laugh as he put an arm around his sister's shoulders "-Good luck. I have a feeling you may need it. Alright team, move out!"

* * *

"How come we got stuck with the sewers?" Rogue grumbled as they separated from the main group.

Kitty rolled her eyes. She was not in a happy mood.

"Since Brian has no clue what Black Air could possibly have been looking for, the whole place needs to be searched. I'm here because I'm the only one who doesn't have to worry about getting lost or stuck in the tunnels. You're here because you _chose_ to tag along, and Colossus because Kurt had some strong desire to try and play matchmaker when he rolled out of bed this morning."

"You know Kit, speaking of Colossus, it's been awhile since you and Peter have been in the same continent together, what with you bein' in England and him bein' in Genosha," Rogue commented as the three of them descended the stairs in the basement to the subterranean tunnel, Peter walking several feet ahead. "Betcha have a lot to talk about."

Kitty gave a sideways glance to her old friend. She had a feeling Rogue was going to be the first of her teammates to dredge this up, but she didn't think it would be this soon. Of course, over the years Kurt and Kitty had been away working on Excalibur, Rogue had changed. Her sullen, goth days were behind her. Now she was much more confident and fiery, like her tough as nails Southern belle roots were finally taking hold of her. She still couldn't touch, but she didn't let that ruin her life. And judging from the looks of things, Rouge might be putting some serious thought into spending that life with Scott Summers. Normally, Kitty would be proud of how far her friend had come, but today she was too annoyed to feel any kind of happiness for her.

"I don't think Peter and I have anymore to say to each other than you and Gambit do."

Rogue's smile faded. She didn't talk for awhile after that.

* * *

She could feel it, tightening around her neck as they trudged through the chilly caves, choking her, growing heavier against her chest until she couldn't breathe. She leaned back against the wall, centuries worth of grime and moss tickling the back of her neck as she quickly reached up and phased it off in one fluid motion. Still leaning against the wall, she rested both hands behind her for support, hiding it between the cup of her hand and crumbling old stone.

"Katy- Kitty, are you alright?" Peter asked, hurrying back to offer her his hand.

"Slipped. But I can handle it. I don't need you," she said curtly.

Peter face shut down, displaying no trace of emotion. He nodded abruptly, then turned and walk away.

Rogue, who had watched the scene play out, stared uncomfortably at the ground. "Come on," she told her friend as she followed Peter into the next tunnel.

Kitty looked down at the object in her hand. The gold claddagh ring sparkled, even in the dim light. A heart, encircled by a crown, held by two hands, symbolizing love, friendship, and loyalty. Peter had given it to her that night by the lake when he had asked her to be his wife. After he left she couldn't bear to part with it, wearing it on a long chain around her neck so that she could hide it under her clothes. When the professor, knowing she needed time away from the mansion, asked her and Kurt to go to England and start a European Division of the X-Men, it was the only personal possession she brought with her. All her other mementos of the past were packed away, forgotten by everyone else but her. And maybe Peter.

She gave the ring one final glance before shoving it into one of her uniform's many pockets, then ran to catch up to her teammates.

* * *

"Soooo" Rogue said slowly, trying to break the eerie silence between the three of them. Hearing her voice lightly echoing in the tight catacombs, she gave an involuntary shudder. Betsy was her friend, and her brother was a decent guy, but there was something inherently creepy about their house, from the secret passage ways right down to the huge slabs of alternating black and white tiles in the foyer that made her feel like they were no more than chess pieces for some higher power to play with. But the underground caves were definitely the worst part of the whole place; a tight and twisting labyrinth with a layer of stagnant water covering the packed dirt floor and no end in sight. Rogue shined her flashlight in front of her and noticed Peter scouting ahead of the two girls. He had reverted back to human form, his armored shape being too large to fit through some of the passageways and finding it too awkward to ask Kitty to phase him through the tighter areas. Rogue mentally thanked Kurt for not sending Storm down here. With her claustrophobia this would have been equivalent to torture.

"Hey Kit," she whispered, not wanting to hear another echo, as she grabbed her friend's shoulder. Kitty gave a startled jump and inhaled sharply. "Sorry. This place givin' you the creeps too?"

"Yeah. I keep feeling like were about to be attacked by a swarm of bats or R.O.U.S.'s or something."

"R.O.U.S.'s?" Rogue questioned, unfamiliar with the term.

"Rodents Of Unusual Size. Haven't you ever seen "The Princess Bride?"

"No."

"Really? Inconceivable!" she said, smiling at her own bad joke.

Rogue shook her head. "You're such a nerd," she muttered.

They trudged on awhile longer, Peter still scouting silently ahead for any possible dangers that might threaten Rogue or his Katya.

"I think perhaps you should look at this," he called out, his voice reverberating through the passage.

"Are those wires?" Rogue asked as they approached him, looking at the yellow and black cords that covered the walls like ivy.

"It looks a little like what Dougie's made out of," Kitty mused

"Dougie?"

"Well his name's Douglock, technically. He's a robot Brian designed to help Moira with her research. He's been programmed to look like a boy though, so he's not as disconcerting.

"A Roboy?" Peter asked, smiling for what Kitty thought was the first time that day, and what Rogue knew to be his first since he re-joined the team two months ago.

Kitty put her hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laugh. "Yes, I believe that correct."

The three mutants continued to follow the strange wires until they found themselves being led into a cavernous landing with the walls completely encased in the black and yellow cords and computer consoles. In the center of the room a large brooch-like ruby, only a little smaller than Kitty's hand, surrounded by a rectangular gold casting with edges that rose up into sharp points was displayed on top of a metal podium.

"All those who enter the Siege shall be judged," she read, translating the Latin on the plaque in front of the gem. "What does that mean?"

"How should Ah know? Ah'm just amazed you haven't touched the computers yet."

"I'll get to those in a minute. But this-" she ran her finger over smooth polished stone-"this might be what Black Air was looking for. Besides, it's pretty. And shiny..."

"Do shiny things amuse you?" Rogue asked sarcastically from her spot at one of the consoles. Kitty ignored her.

"How is it that Betsy and Captain Britain do not know of this place?" Peter wondered out loud.

"Ah don't know, but we should probably get Brian down here. He might know how to work this stuff. Besides, Ah'm ready to get out of here. Which might be a problem," she muttered, turning around to find the exit had somehow disappeared. "Kitty, phase us through," Rogue instructed.

Kitty didn't seem to hear her. She stood over the stone watching as the light surrounding it seemed to grow brighter and expand.

"Katya, come on," Peter said, rushing over and placing his hands on her shoulders to pull her away.

Before he could move her the light exploded, filling every crack of the circular landing. It was white hot, but it didn't burn. Instead it felt warm and comforting on their skin, leaving them all strangely calm as it's power engulfed the entire room.

* * *

"What was that? That's not an ending."

"Well there is more," she told Rachel hesitantly.

"You know Aunt Kitty, I don't know what sugar coat means, but I promise if you don't do that I won't get scared like you think."

"I didn't say....what did I tell you about going into other people's heads? Fine, you wanna hear the rest? Here it goes."

When we last left the knight, the maiden, and their little snowflake it was summer. That was the time they treasured most, when the days were warm and sunny and they thought the light would shine down on them forever. The knight once again professed his deep love to the maiden, asking her for a second time to be his wife, a proposal to which she readily accepted. Meanwhile, Snowflake grew more and more content in her new life, flourishing under the love of her mommy and daddy. The knight and the maiden doted over their child, amazed at her quiet innocence and boundless love for life. For Snowflake, something as simple as a swimming pool was a thing of wonder. She loved to swim. And she loved to dance, especially alongside her mother. And sometimes... sometimes the maiden would take her daughter's hand, and they would dance with such joy that it was as if they were floating on air. And other times the child would sit on her father's lap for hours, watching as he painted the canvas in front of them, finding delight in every color, and in her eyes he saw his images come alive.

One night, only a few days before their wedding was to take place, the knight and the maiden were awakened by the screams of their little girl. They rushed to her aid, expecting a nightmare, but finding instead an empty room. Both parents were inconsolable with grief, and for many weeks they searched, day and sleepless night, for their Snowflake. Finally, word came. A man, if one could even call him that, for he must be of the purest evil, with powers that could only have come from the wretched stone heart of Lucifer himself, had captured their child in an attempt to corrupt her innocence. The knight and the maiden hastily departed to the far off land where their daughter was being held, only to be met by the bad man's army of demons. They fought them off, slaying many as they made their way to the throne room, where they were faced with a massive attack. Yet their love for their daughter gave them the strength to succeed, until there was only one demon left. The maiden saw her run, unarmed, to the knight as he raised his sword, ready to strike the demon down to get to his child. And, watching the strange movement of the demon, the maiden realized the truth a moment before sword pierced flesh. She screamed out a warning, but by then it was too late.

As blood ran from the wound through her heart, the demon's form began to change, until the body at the end of the knight's sword was not that of a monster, but of his own little Snowflake. She was...she was as pale as her namesake, her tarnished metal armor turning back into her white cotton nightgown, her skin eerily pallid, and her shinning sapphire eyes, so much like her father's, rolled back into her head, leaving only an empty white space where life used to shine. The only color on her was the crimson red blood that slowly spread across her simple white nightgown. In seeing this, the knight gathered his dead child in his arms, the child that he had murdered, and wept for them all.

Though they would search, the bad man was never found. On the day of Snowflake's funeral, the knight left. He traveled across the ocean to an island ruled by the powerful Magnus, a king who at times had been their friend, but more often was their enemy. The maiden didn't know why he left, only that he was gone and she was alone. One day, she too left for an island, but it was much further North, where it was cold and lonely and dark. Everyday she thought of her lost loves; her knight and her child, remembering that once upon a time there had been a knight and a maiden who loved each other very much. And, for a time, they were happy. But then time ran out, as it always does."

"And?" Rachel asked, breaking the silence that had followed.

"And the end," Kitty told her, turning her head to wipe her eyes before any tears could escape.

"How can it be the end?"

"I warned you it wasn't going to be happy."

"No, I mean the maiden is still alive, and the knight is still alive so.....how can that be the end?"

"Alright, then it's the end of their story together."

"No it's not. If you love somebody, I mean really love them, like the knight and the maiden, they're apart of your life forever. And who knows? Maybe one day they'll even get a second chance."

"I doubt it."

"I guess. Aunt Kitty? I'm tired. You can go to sleep now."

"Why thank you, your highness."

"Aunt Kitty?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for the story. I'm sorry about the way it ended."

"Yeah. Me too. Now go to sleep. I'll wake you in the morning."

* * *

Now I'm sad. This chapter was really hard to write because I love Illyana so much. But she had to die. The voices in my head were pretty insistent about that. I think it because they're evil. Please leave a review, they'll cheer me up, and then maybe I won't kill off anymore innocent beloved characters. And a big thanks to all the people who reviewed last week!

Lucas'sgirl- Sorry about Wisdom! I tried to think of a way to put him in this story a little more, but he just doesn't fit anywhere. More importantly, I find him difficult to write. Happy to know you like it!

KittieKat8- Yeah, Scott is pretty grrr, but he'll be sort of out of the picture soon, mainly because I have a strong desire to kill him off and that really wont help the plot although it would make me happy. Its nice to know you liked chapter 2, since it wasn't originally part of the story's outline.

ishandahalf- Yeah, every chapter I hate Scott more, too. I really wanted to have him punished by making him watch "Passions" (ironically Spike's favorite tv show, but it's been much worse since poor Timmy died along with his martimmy's. That show is so awful it's hypnotic. No matter how hard you try you just can't turn away.) And the romyness is almost here! Just another week!

Dark-bat- Sorry, I don't really think this chapter will make you too happy. It made me depressed. But it will get much happier soon, at least for awhile. And I hope your life takes a severe turn for the better!

B- If you thought killing off Peter's parents was harsh, this chapter probably seemed really cruel. It's sad, I actually cried writing this chapter, cause I hated killing her off. But things will be happier for Peter soon! I can only torture him for so long. :)

Kirayoshi- Glad you liked it! I completely agree about Kitty and Pete making good partners instead of a couple. Their banter was always fun, but I thought part of the problem was they got together too quickly, liked they just skipped over the early stages of a relationship. But at least they gave us the "Pryde and Wisdom" LS! As for Lance, he won't be around at all. Scott's already in ths story, I didn't want to add another character I didn't like ;)

evosmylife- There was a partial explanation of why Petey left in this chapter, but his rationalization of it and what he did while he was gone won't come until later. But more importantly, romyness in the next chapter! Which means much less Scott, which is always a good thing.

Star-of-Chaos- The Romy almost here, it's still in chapter 4 for sure! Plus there was a little reference in this one. And hopefully after this chapter you don't want to slap Peter anymore. Personally, I wanted to give him a big hug.

DemonRogue13- I'm really glad you liked that chapter. Originally, chapter 3 was chapter 2 and chapter 2 didn't exist, but it seemed too abrupt, so I added that one last minute. As for Scott being a total bastard, I was rereading the newest Uncanny and Astonishing to try to see his good qualities, except I couldn't really find any. So now I no longer feel bad about portraying him as a jackass. :)


	4. Chapter 4

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THE KNIGHT & THE MAIDEN

CHAPTER 4

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men. If I did, Madelyne Pryor would still be alive, along with Peter and Illyana, of course.

* * *

She looked out the window and took a deep breath, taking in the thick, humid air that was so familiar. Even before her eyes fought through the harsh white glare of the morning sun, Rogue knew she was in the South. She just didn't know why.

Last she remembered, she had been exploring the caves under Braddock Manor. Then there had been the room with the stone and then the walls closed up and the light came and now there was this. She had awakened to find herself dressed in a tank top and pajama pants, and there was orange juice, fruit, scrambled eggs, and bacon sitting on a platter next to her bed. The windows were already open when she woke up, looking three stories down at grass and a cluster of junipers. Wherever Rogue was, it didn't seem all too hostile, but she had no intention of staying put. She tried the door and, in finding it unlocked, decided to make a break for it.

Rogue flattened herself against the wall, peering around the corner, only to find the hallway empty. She had made it all the way to the stairs without any trouble when someone grabbed on to her bare hand. Their touch was gentle, but their grip was powerful enough to cause her to stagger backwards. "Big mistake bu-" she managed to say before her words died in her throat. A sinking feeling settled into the pit of her stomach as she realized her captor's hand was gloved. "Figures," she muttered. She should have known. They had redressed her; if they hadn't already known about her powers they must have figured it out. Rogue slowly turned to look her captor in the eye, finding herself starring straight into the last face she'd ever expected.

"Bonjour, Chere."

Rogue paused for a moment, trying to decide if the memory absorption that would come with the brief physical contact was worth it. Watching the Cajun's grin widen at her hesitation made her mind up for her. Looking straight into his eyes, Rogue clocked Gambit right in his smug face, then turned and stormed off.

* * *

Gambit rubbed his aching chin and smiled, despite the pain. It was nice to know she hadn't changed.

He caught up with Rogue at the bottom of the stairs where she had stopped, trying to figure out which direction she should go in. "If you lookin' for da door, it's dat way," he told her, gesturing with his arm to the right. Rogue went left.

"You know," he continued as he followed her down the hall, "when a gentleman say hi to a lady, the polite thing for her to do is t'smile at him, at da very least. Not punch him."

"Ah'm not a lady, Ah'm an X-Man. Unlike some people," she retorted.

They came to a dead end.

"Told you to go right," Remy said smugly.

"Ah apologize. For some reason Ah had a notion thieves were untrustworthy," she snorted as she wrenched open a window, determined to get out.

"What'd you hafta go and do dat for? Is dat anyway to treat da man who rescued you?" he asked, an exaggerated wounded look on his face.

"Rescued me? Kidnapped is more like it!"

"Oh, non, non, non. We be da Thieves Guild. We don't kidnap, we steal. Kidnapping is wrong. Besides, no one in dere right mind would take you. You be far too much trouble."

"And why should Ah believe you?" Rogue asked, stopping halfway through the window.

"No reason," he shrugged. "But you're the one climbing out da window when you could be walking through da door."

Rogue rolled her eyes and grimaced, knowing he was right. She climbed back in and turned to face him, sitting on the window's ledge.

"Fine," she breathed, a little more calm. "Then you tell me why one minute Ah'm in England and the next Ah'm alone in your house in the damn swamps," she demanded.

"Someone made all your wishes come true?" he guessed. She turned and continued to climb back outside. "Wait, wait," he hastened, grabbing her elbow. "Yesterday, Louis found you on the bank. He saw da "X" on your uniform and knew what team you were from, so he brought you back to the manor so some of da filles could get you dry and change your wet clothes-"

"So they could search my pockets?"

"We are thieves," he explained. "But dey didn't know who you be, so dey weren't careful with your skin, and dey touched you-- he grabbed her hand and held it-- so if you happen to have any flashes of a woman with a penchant for Bourbon and a talent at hustling tourists down in the Quarter, you know where it came from." He smiled conspiringly at her. "Took Marie-Ange hours to wake up from that little mistake," he said in a low voice, as though they were sharing a secret.

Rogue ignored his flirtations. "How'd Ah get here?"

"I really don't know. I told you everything, I swear. I had thought you'd be able t'tell me. And I had hoped that m'be you were on your way down here for a visit. Chere," he drawled, looking deep into her eyes.

"So how long was I asleep?" she questioned, seemingly unaffected by his charms.

"Almost two days," he threw out, a look of frustration clouding his face.

"Two days," she muttered, looking back at Gambit. "So Ah'm really not bein' kidnapped or held for ransom?" Rogue asked skeptically. His story had a lot of holes in it, but she overlooked those. There was a part of her that couldn't help but want to believe him.

Gambit held up his right hand and tilted his chin up slightly. "Thieve's honor," he promised.

"Real reassurin'," she sighed. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she knew she wouldn't find the answer here. Especially with all the distractions around her. "I want to call the X-Men," Rogue said quietly, looking away.

Gambit's confident expression faltered slightly.

"And leave so soon?"

"Ah have a duty to my team," she said firmly, refusing to meet his eyes.

Gambit nodded silently. Rogue followed him into the next room where he handed the phone to her.

"Thanks," she murmured, dialing Moira's number.

"Yeah, well we didn't find any com equipment on you. That's not safe, you know."

"I know," she agreed as she waited for someone to pick up on the other end of the line.

"H'lo?" a young voice answered.

"Rachel? It's Rogue."

There was nothing but silence in response.

"Look, I need to speak to the X-Men."

Again, there was silence.

"Are they even there? Alright, listen Rachel, this is very important. You need to get Moira to call Scott on the com link and tell him Ah'm at the Thieves Guild with Gambit in Louisiana, and Ah'm ok, but Ah need someone to come get-"

"I don't think I should be talking to you. Daddy always says I'm not posta talk to strangers. Bye."

"Rachel wait! She hung up on me!" Rogue complained as she slammed the phone down after hearing the dial tone. "You know, this would have never happened with the Avengers. They have Jarvis," she fumed.

"She's just a little girl."

"Please. She's young, but she's not stupid. She just hates me."

"How could anyone hate you?" Remy asked, trying to comfort her.

"Because she can't stand that Scott and I are- that were friends," she finished, noticing the look on Gambit's face.

"You an' One-Eye. Dat's, dat's unexpected," he stammered, for once at a loss of words.

"Yeah, well, he's a decent guy. For awhile he was so lost. He needed a friend," she explained.

"That all the two of you are? Friends?" Remy asked, a dazed look on his face.

"With mah powers, Ah can't really be anything else, even if Ah wanted to," she reminded him.

"I never wanted to be jus' friends with you," he told her softly, placing his hands on her shoulders.

Rouge twisted around, turning her back towards him.

"Ah need to get back to the X-Men."

"Chere..."

"Don't."

"Why not spend a few days here, catch up with an old friend. The city's less than an hour away. We had fun there once."

"Remy, that was a long time ago, you_ left _a long time ago, almost six years. In the X-Men, you learn not to look back. Because when you fight for a dream you have to keep focused on it. And if you look at the past, sometimes it makes it so the future doesn't really seem worth fighting for anymore. The pain is too- damn! how can all the lines to Muir be busy? I tried all five and... and she took all the phones off the hook. I told you she hated me," Rogue grumbled, looking down at the phone in annoyance before dialing another number. "Hi, New Orleans Airport, please." She paused for a moment as the operator connected her. "Hi, Ah need the soonest available flight to as far north in Scotland as Ah can get. Aberdeen? Alright, Ah-"

The line went dead. Rogue looked up to see Gambit holding down the button on the phone hook.

"Whadya do that for?"

"We not goin' to Aberdeen," Remy told her simply.

"We?" she challenged. He put a gloved finger to her lips to silence her, taking the phone from her hand.

"Bonjour, Mademoiselle. Pleased to meet the acquaintance of someone with a voice as beautiful as yours. If you can arrange it I need two tickets to Westchester County Airport as fast as possible. Merveilleux. Merci." Rogue stayed silent as he gave the ticket agent his information, her fingers tapping against the table irritably.

"Mind lettin me in on what's goin' on?" she snapped as soon as the phone was back in it's cradle.

"Fastest way to cross da Atlantic is the Blackbird, non?"

"The Blackbird is already across the Atlantic, you idiot."

Gambit raised an eyebrow at her sudden outburst, an amused smile spreading across his face.

"Are you sayin' dat with all da X-Men's money dey only got one jet?"

"We do have the Aurora, but it's just the backup."

"So we go back to da mansion."

"Why we?"

"I can't in good conscience let you fly da Aurora over dat big ocean all by yourself now, can I? Besides, once you be at da mansion you can contact Muir. Dey might not even need you to make the trip, which would give us some time to spend in that big mansion all alone."

"Or I could just fly to Aberdeen now. Alone."

"How you plan to get on a plane widout I.D.? Or money? Your face is pretty, chere, but even dat can only get you so far. And your personality falls somewhere far from charming. You can be, what's the word I'm looking for? Difficult."

"Yeah, well get used to it. It's a three hour ride to Westchester. You'll get to see just how difficult I can be."

"Then I'll just have to be extra charming to make up for it," he said, his confident smile returning to his face.

"You're incorrigible," Rogue snapped.

"And you, Chere, are beautiful. What can I say? You have the prettiest scowl in the world," he told her, walking away. Despite herself, Rogue found a grin pulling at the corners of her lips. "Oh, and Rogue," he continued, stopping in the doorway, his back still facing her, "your smile is even prettier."

* * *

Peter woke up. The early morning sunlight streaming in from the wide windows filled every crack of the large room, feeling warm and comforting on his skin, forcing him awake from his dream. His eyes fought to adjust to the light, mind still hazy from sleep. He rolled over, turning his back to the sun, finding himself looking at the empty space next to him. For a moment a feeling of loss and regret washed over him, remembering the days when he would wake up and look next to him to find... someone...someone he couldn't quite remember. Then the feeling was forgotten.

He turned onto his stomach and buried his head in the pillow, trying to drown out the light, but the dull pounding in his ears made it impossible to get back to sleep. Peter got up and sat down on the bed- his bed- and put his head in his hands, trying to sort though the chaos in his brain. It was as though his mind had suddenly gone topsy-turvy, with conflicting memories and truth's battling for control. But in the quiet his world started to take form, make sense. That confusion or whatever it was must have been nothing more then some weird combination of too little sleep the night before and leftovers of that strange dream he had. It had been a nice dream though, at least most of it was. There had been a girl. That was all he really remembered.

Not feeling like going back to sleep, Peter wandered over to the bathroom, tripping over the laptop laying on the ground along the way.

He stood in front of the mirror in his boxers, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. From the corner of his eye he noticed a blur of movement behind him in the fog covered mirror. A pair of delicate hands wrapped around his waist and traveled up to his chest, their owner's warm bare body, still wet from the shower, nestling against the back of his so closely that he could feel every one of her curves.

Morning," she murmured, kissing him lightly on the arch of his back.

Peter took her hands in his and pulled her in front of him. Taking her by the waist he lifted her up onto the edge of the sink, bending down to kiss her tenderly, placing one hand to support her back, letting the other rest on the soft skin of her upper thigh.

"Morning, Katya."

* * *

Okay, there's the first bit of Romy! And if you liked it then you'll be happy to know there's more in the works, since those two will be taking up some of the next chapter as well. This is my first time writing an entire conversation between just Rogue and Remy, so please leave a review to help me know if I'm writing them correctly! I really don't want to mess them up. And big, big, colossal sized thanks to everyone who reviewed!

SperryDee- I felt bad about Illyana, but the poor girl had to die. But you never really know, she could show up again in some way, shape, or form. ;)

KagInuLuv- Sorry to have made you cry! I cried while I was writing it, just cause I really like that little girl so much. But it made for such good angst.

epona04- Thanks so much for the compliments! I glad you enjoyed it. I really like your user name, Celtic mythology always interested me. Anyway, here's the Romy. I know it seems a little short, but they'll have more meaningful conversations in the next few chapters.

KittieKat8- I don't know why I kept Cyclops alive when I hate him and killed off Illyana whose my third favorite character of all-time. I really would like to kill off Scott, but I just can't seem to fit it in the story anywhere that makes sense. Maybe at the end of the last chapter I'll throw in a little p.s. Scott died. His death was slow and painful. The X-Men threw a kegger in celebration. Yay!

B - Chapter 3 made me very sad. And the inspiration for Illyana's death came from the Limbo arc, but they weren't necessarily in Limbo... and the whole story hasn't really been told. ;)

DemonRogue13- Glad you liked it. I thought after having made everyone wait so long for romyness, it was only fair that I wrote what had been going on. :)

ishandahalf- Shiny things amuse me too! And colorful things. Last week I drove one of my friends to LAX and there was a blue plane and I got all excited. It reminded me of Big Bird from the Muppets movie when they dyed him blue. Sadly, no one else seemed to share my joy over colorful airplanes. And I had to mention the princess bride, because I love that movie and because when I was watching it on tv when I started writing the outline for this story, so it had a lot of influence on it. Oh, and I watched Passions the other day and I was so upset. Why does Fox not see he's supposed to be with Theresa? Whitney belongs with Chad, not him, unless of course they resurrect that old plot line where he might be her half brother, cause then it's just wrong. Oh well, at least Beth's mother's monkey has stopped having romantic daydreams about Luis. Wow, there's a weird sentence I never thought I'd write. Oh, and a quick clarification on the last chapter that should make you happier: Kitty thought that Rogue might want to be with Scott, Rogue herself never said it. Rogue will go into a little more detail over her relationship with Scott soon, probably in the next chapter, which can only lead to, you guessed it, more romy!

The Uncanny R-Man- I'm glad you like the story! And yeah, Illyana's dead. Wheter she's Gwen Stacey kind of dead of Jean Grey kind of dead remains to be seen. Poor girl, she was born into the unluckiest family. The Rasputins are like the Romanovs of comics. Which is kind of ironic.

Lucas'sgirl- Well Peter might not have to get all jealous over his girl, but Remy may end thinking he has a little competition. And Kitty might end up having to deal with some issues of her own soon....

RikaTabithaStarr- Here's your romy! Hope you liked it!

Thanks for reading! Hope you all enjoyed it!


	5. Chapter 5

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THE KNIGHT AND THE MAIDEN

****

CHAPTER 5

* * *

They lied together on the bed, reveling in the quiet moment. Kitty was nestled close to Peter, his arm around her shoulder. Her head rested against him, feeling his chest rise and fall with each breath. She heard him inhale deeply, breathing in the strawberry scent of her still-wet hair.

"Peter? You awake?" she whispered.

"No," he murmured.

"Ok. I guess I'll just leave then," Kitty said, moving to get up. Peter grabbed her hand and pulled her back, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. "I thought you were asleep," she said, burying her head in his chest.

"I am," he agreed, his eyes still closed.

"Which is why I should get up and leave because if you're asleep we can't do the activity I have in mind."

"I'm up."

"Good," she said, tilting her head up so they could kiss. "Now you can tell me the story." She looked up at him with her pleading puppy dog eyes "Please?" she wheedled.

"Which one?" he gave in. Kitty's face immediately broke into a grin and she showered him with kisses.

"You know which one."

"And I thought you always said you were the master story teller, Katya"

"I am, most of the time. But you're the one who tells this story best."

"Well I am the one who made it up," he reasoned, his hand reaching for hers. Their fingers entwined and he lifted her hand up to his mouth, kissing it.

"Just tell the story," she said with a giggle.

"If you insist. Once upon a time there was a knight and a maiden......"

* * *

"When I asked you what you wanted t'do, dis is not exactly what I had in mind."

Rogue looked down at her cards and smiled, pleased with the knowledge that she had the upper hand.

"You said Ah could do whatever Ah wanted. Ah wanted this. Do you have any eights?"

Remy stared at his hand, a bored, slightly disgruntled expression on his face.

"Go fish."

Rogue raised her eyebrows, giving him a disbelieving look.

"What?"

She continued to stare at him.

"Fine," he muttered, throwing the eight of clubs down on the airplane tray table, scowling as Rogue put down yet another match.

She smiled, amused by Remy's obvious displeasure over her winning. "You know, If you don't want to play this, then next time you should just let me watch the movie like I wanted," she chided. A spark lit up in his eyes at her words, his charming grin returning to his face.

"So there's a next time?" he asked, leaning closer.

Rogue tilted her head until her mouth was right next to his ear.

"If you don't stop trying to look at my cards there won't be," she whispered menacingly, hitting him on the head with her deck before slouching back in her seat away from him. A smug smile was on her face, and if it wasn't for her foot tapping anxiously against the floorboards Remy would have believed she was perfectly comfortable in her surroundings. He leaned forward, looking past Rogue to the window where the ground was just starting to appear.

"We should be landing soon," he noted.

"Good."

"I'm sure everything be fine when we get dere," he added, trying to soothe her nerves.

"Why wouldn't it be?" she snapped.

"No reason," Gambit shrugged. "You have any kings?"

"Here," she said, putting one down. "Do you have any aces?"

"Fish," he said, motioning to the deck. She stared at his again. "I don't have any!" he protested.

"Yeah right. You know what, let's just stop. This was a bad idea. Ah shoulda never picked a game that depends on trustin' tha word of your opponent. 'Specially when that opponent's you," Rogue muttered, throwing her hand next to the deck and turning away to face the window, her arms folded across her chest.

"I really didn't have any," Gambit said quietly, gathering up the cards to set up a game of solitaire. It wasn't until he was on his fourth round of the game that Rogue spoke to him again.

"Black three on the red four," she pointed out reluctantly.

"Merci beaucoup." He watched her from the corner of his eye for a moment, noticing she was still nervously tapping her foot. "So tell me chere, da X-Men. What'd I miss all dese years? Besides you, 'course."

She rolled her eyes at his flirtations. "We expanded the franchise. Y'know, kinda like Starbucks, as Kitty would say," she said with a wry laugh. "There's a team in Europe and D.C. and a school in Massachusetts now."

"Lotta groups I never hearda filled with people I don' know don' interest me, Chere. Tell me 'bout da old team."

"Careful Remy, you almost sound like you miss 'em."

"Well, dose were some good times. 'Specially da days when no one was tryin' ta kill us."

Rogue laughed. "Mosta the teams the same, though there's some new additions. The New Mutants finally grew up, physically at least. Mentally they have a long way t'go. Bobby still thinks freezin' all the toilet seats in the mornings is an acceptable way to practice his powers. Of course, sommathe kids left for more normal lives, but Sam, Bobby, and Berto joined the X-Men and Rhane ended up in Excalibur- that's the team in Europe- along with Kitty and Kurt."

"You didn't go with dem?" he asked, surprised.

"Why would I? My home is here."

"Figured you want to be with your brother and best friend, non?"

No." She shook her head sadly. "They both had their reasons for leavin'. Kurt deserved the chance to be leader and Kitty just needed to get away. She was pretty hard to be around then. No one knew how to treat her."

"Why? Did her and Peter break up?" he asked, a hint of concern in his voice. " 'Cause those two really seemed like dey were in it for da long haul."

"No, it was...that's right, you don't know, do you?"

"Know 'bout what? Last I heard from dem was when I sent him a card after his parents got killed," Gambit told her, a little worried where Rogue's story was leading.

"Illyana was murdered."

"Mon dieu, I didn't know. I would have called or sent them something at the least or-"

"It's okay. It's not like either would have noticed if you had done something for them anyway. They only had her for two years, but they loved that little girl so much. They were a family."

"How'd it happen?"

"Someone kidnapped her. Snatched her right outta her bed one night. We still don't even know why, but we went after him soon as we tracked him down. It was...chaos. These creatures were attacking from everywhere. I remember the whole time I was fighting I just kept thinking this must be what hell is like. And Petey, he was in a rage that would have put Wolverine to shame. And poor Illyana, Peter...I mean...she got killed in the fight," Rogue finished, deciding Remy didn't need to hear the whole truth of Illyana's death.

"How are they?" he asked, stunned by what he had just been told.

"After it happened, Peter just walked away. Just got up and left. Professor claimed he couldn't find him with Cerebro, so Kit spent a whole week recalibrating it to work for non-psychic minds. Never slept the whole time, she was like a woman possessed or somethin'. Ah think she was tryin' to make herself believe that once she found Peter, everything would be okay again But after she located him in Genosha she said she didn't want to go after him anymore. Same day Chuck asked her and Kurt and some of the others to form a team over on Muir. I should have gone with them, but Ah was so wrapped up in my own problems and Ah...ah didn't want to add hers to the pile. Ah shoulda been a better friend, but she just made it so hard. Ah think that's why Ah tried so hard to help Scott after Jean's....I was guilty. Ah had already let one friend down, Ah didn't want to do the same to another.

"Jean died?" he asked, wondering if there was ever going to be an end to all this morose news.

"Yeah, her powers got to much for her to control, and she started sayin' she was this cosmic entity, the Phoenix. Whatever was in her turned evil, so we fought it best we could. In the end, we followed her up ta space, and ta stop herself from killing us, she committed suicide. Rachel was only 'bout three then, and Scott became obsessed with making sure that whatever got Jean doesn't get his daughter, too. He's always sendin' her to Muir for tests, tryin' to keep her safe, but I think part of it is he's afraid of her. He's afraid that if the Phoenix wants her, it'll take her, and he can't stop it. He doesn't want to love Ray anymore than he already does, cause he really believes he's only gonna lose her. Look, can we not talk about this anymore? Let's talk anout something else happy or funny or not involving death. Why don't you tell me what you've been up to?"

"I...stole a bunch of stuff. Doesn't really seem all that interestin' after your story. It was mostly jus'da usual things. Jewels, paintings, whatever brings in the big money and are you really just friends with Cyclops?

"Remy! Like Ah said before, we're just friends."

"What does dat mean, "friends"? I've called lots of women "friends", don't mean dat's what dey are."

"Yeah, ok, thanks for sharing. He's just a friend. He means a lot."

"Why? Because he's your special friend?"

"For the last time, he's just my friend. Sometimes it's just nice, havin' a guy pay attention to you all the time who's company ain't always too bad."

"Oh hell no!"

"Excuse me?"

"All I ever did was pay attention to you, an' flirt with you, an' hit on you, an' all you ever did was insult me, or ignore me, or push me away!"

"That was different!"

"How?" he yelled.

Rogue's eyes narrowed.

"It just was."

* * *

"Uhhh," Kitty moaned.

"Shhh. Just rest," she heard a voice say above her. "She's awake," the voice said louder, and this time Kitty found it faintly familiar. His statement was followed by the sound of footsteps. With some effort she forced open her eyes, blinded by the light before it was blocked by a bunch of blurry heads that suddenly appeared above her. Squinting, she managed to make out Logan, Kurt, Storm, Bobby, and Psylocke standing over her.

"Now I'm never going to be able to get rid of them." Beast sighed, shaking his head. "Nice to see you awake, Katherine," he said kindly from behind Bobby's shoulder. Here you go," he added, handing her her glasses. "I know how important these can be. I'm afraid we had to take your contacts out."

She put her glasses on and stared at the faces of her friends gawking at her.

"Why are you staring at me?" she asked, trying to sit up. "And where am I?" she asked, looking around.

"You're back in Westchester. We-"

"Is that Rogue?" she asked, spotting the figure on the hospital bed next from her. "Is she ok? What happened?" She looked around to the other side of her. "Where's Peter?"

"Kitty, why don't you rest-" Storm said calmly, her hand pressing on her shoulder, trying to push her back down.

"No! Where's Peter?" she asked, trying to find someone who would look her in the eye.

"I'm afraid, my dear, that when sorrow comes, it comes not in single spies, but in battalions."

"Hank, I don't want to hear some pointless quote, I want to hear answers!"

"Kitten," Ororo said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and putting her arm around her, "Black Air had the caverns booby-trapped, and there was an explosion." She hugged Kitty tighter, her voice starting to waver. "I'm so sorry, Kitten. He's gone."

* * *

Angst makes me so sad, yet I write it anyway. I should be sadder, but I'm so full of caffeine I find it hard not to laugh uncontrollably right now. So this chapter didn't move the plot forward all that much, but once I started writing the Romy I just had fun, and the rest was made me sad, so their part ended up longer than planned. Next chapter is almost all Kitty, and the confusion will go away. I promise! And coming soon, a guest appearance from a very special group of students!

But thank you for the reviews, they make me so happy! I'm pretty hopped up on caffeine, so if I sound really crazy and make completely random references in the shout outs, and I probably will, blame the Pepsi-Cola Company.

Lucas'sgirl- Scouge IS weird. It even sounds weird. I mean, Romy and Kiotr roll right off your tounge and Kurmanda is just fun to say. Scouge sounds like what Bubba from Duck Tales would call Scrouge McDuck. That's just a bad sign for a pairing when the name reminds you of a character from a good eighties cartoon that was brought in after the show jumped the shark. Although Duck Tales did always had a very peppy theme song, which I'm currently singing as I type. Back to the actual topic, the Kiotr started to pop up again in this chapter. Next chapter will learn a lot more about what's going on. It wont necessarily be happy, because torturing fictional characters is fun.

Dark-Bat- It's ok, it was supposed to be confusing. This chapter's even more confusing than the one before it. But it will make sense soon. And I'm trying to keep the romy away from the angsty side, cause I think they're meant to be a little more fun then dark and broody. That's Piotr's territory. But, oh my God, you mentioned liquid soap! I seriously love liquid soap! Whenever I go to a restaurant the first thing I have to do is go and see what color soap they have in the restroom. And I make one of the boys go in their restroom so I can make sure the colors are the same in both. When I was little my parents used to think I was OCD cause I was always washing my hands every time we went somewhere, and then they figured out it had nothing to do with germs, I just wanted to see all the pretty colors of the soap. But I never thought about how liquid soap should be hot. Now I'm confused too. Knew I should have paid attention in chem class.

RikaTabithaStarr- It's not Rachel fault for being mean, she has an excuse that will be explained in the next chapter! Ok, well didn't have one in the first few chapters, but she...actually she was pretty mean to Rogue then too, but it was only to try to keep Scott and Rogue apart, so in a way, it was a good thing. And who knows, maybe somewhere down the road she'll end up doing something nice for her. ;)

B- I like plot twists! It's fun to confuse people, mainly because I spend most of the time confused myself. Everything for the most part gets seemingly explained in the next chapter, but there might be some new mysteries popping up. And yay, you liked the Kiotr kiss! Because really, the entire plot is superfluous. It's just an excuse for me to write Kiotr kissing scenes, kind of like how salad is just a reason to eat dressing. ;)

ishandahalf- Ok, so now you got me all sucked back into watching Passions again. The Fox and Whitney scenes are disturbing. And when will they ever kill Charity? I've been waiting for that moment for years, and it never comes! I think her, Whitney, and Gwen should die together to get rid of all the annoying characters at once. Maybe they can all be killed be Kay the evil Hound from hell, and then Miguel can go crazy with grief over losing his precious Charity and actually get a personality. Sigh. At least one of the Lopez-Fitzgeralds is finally dead. But poor Pilar is dying. She can't die! She's the only sane person in her family. Her children have already resorted to kidnapping, extortion, blackmail, trying to murder each other, and all of them have pretty much qualified as stalkers at one point with her alive. Imagine how out of control they'll be when she's dead! Oh yeah, I should get back to the actual story. Yay! You liked the romy! Getting them together will not be easy, but I think it's safe to say there's hope. Oh, and even though I'm not sure where it's going to be placed, I have written an in depth conversation on the reasons for the Scott- Rogue friendship that I'm pretty pleased with and I think you'd enjoy. It has to come later so there can be more remy jealousy. And I've got you hooked on the Kiotr part? Yay! Everyone should love Kiotr, as all Kiotr is full of awesomeness!

Sanity: Questionable- Well, a little bit of Kitty and Piotr's whereabouts were answered in this chapter, but the next one explains it more fully. Glad you're enjoying the story!

KagInuLuv- If you loved the romy in chapter 4 then hopefully you liked this chapter too! They kind of took over the story. Next chapter will get back to the Kiotr, but the romy pop up again.

KittieKat8- Sadly, you didn't miss anything with Kitty and Piotr. It was just a dream....or something close to it. I'm glad you liked the romy! They were a lot easier to write in this chapter since it was my second try. And sorry, no Scott death yet. But there's always hope.

DemonRogue13- Thanks! I'm so glad you liked the Romy, you interpreted it exactly the way I hoped it would be. There's some more romy and some other conversations that explore a little more of Rogue's feelings and motivations in later chapters, so stay tuned for those!

The Uncanny R-Man- I'm so glad you like their accents, I debated over not even giving them any for a long time. I kept changing them to regular english and then having to change them back because I was afraid there were some parts were Remy either sounded like he was trying to rap or he had a cold. But when I finished I ended up with the habit of trying to spell "I" and "Ah". But sadly, as seen in this chapter, Piotr and Kitty are not together.

epona04- Rachel may seem like a cow right now, but I promise she's not. Eventually she'll find a way to redeem herself for all the Rogue fans. And sticking Rogue with Remy was evil, but it was too much fun to pass up!


	6. Chapter 6

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THE KNIGHT AND THE MAIDEN

CHAPTER 6

* * *

"Kitty?" Storm called out into the darkened room. In the dim glow of the various medical equipment lights she could make out Kitty's outline. The younger woman was staring straight ahead, watching as the light on the machine at the foot of her bed blinked off and on, casting an eerie red glow to her face. Ororo sat down next to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?" she asked gently.

Kitty turned and stared at her, tears glistening in the bottom of her eyes.

"Oh. How very foolish of me. Of course you're not. Come here," Storm said, holding out her arms.

"'Roro, my heart hurts," she sobbed, clinging tightly to her friend. The elemental mutant held her as she wept, finding silent tears running down her face as well.

"I know Kitten. I know it's painful. You miss Peter, just as you still miss Illyana."

"It's my fault. I let them both down, didn't I?"

"No. No, child. We all know the risks of being an X-Man. Peter chose this job, in spite of the danger. And Illyana...I know how you loved her. She was your little girl, even if she wasn't your blood. And you wanted to always keep her happy and safe from all the bad things, and take all her pain for her. But that's impossible, child. No one can do that. Not even intangible ninja geniuses. Not even white haired weather goddesses."

"I still loved him, you know. Do you think he still loved me?"

"I know he did."

* * *

"Katya."

"Piotr?" she asked, watching his face come into clearer view above her as her contacts settled back into place.

"For a moment I thought I was going to have to throw some cold water on your face to wake you up," he teased, smiling down at her while his warm hand rested tenderly against her cheek, his thumb reaching up to softly brush an errant tear from her eye. She turned her head towards his hand, kissing his palm as she nestled into his touch.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Of course you are right," Peter agreed, his grin widening. "I would have done this!"

Kitty shrieked with laughter as he reached down and tickled her stomach. She phased out of his grasp and managed to crawl to the edge of the bed before letting him grab her leg and pull her back towards him. She tried to give him a proper kiss, but only managed a few pecks in between her giggles.

"I'm sorry," she gasped through her laughter, trying to calm herself.

"Well if you're going to laugh this hard I may as well keep tickling you," he reasoned. Kitty phased herself just in time to escape his fingers, keeping her arms solid so she could reach over and get to the bottom of his feet. "This is cheating!" he protested as she continued her attack.

Three minutes and a raspberry to the stomach later their tickle war had ended and they were back in the position they had started in earlier that morning, snuggled up tightly in each other's arms.

"You were crying in your sleep again."

Peter's voice was steady, but it couldn't mask his worry. Kitty didn't answer him. Instead, she tilted her face down, letting her forehead rest against his chin.

"Are you alright?"

She phased out of his embrace and sat at the edge of the bed, reaching out to pet the plush head of the little stuffed dragon that sat on her nightstand.

"I am now. It was just a bad dream."

"Da. We've both had so many of those," he commented, sitting up on the opposite side of the bed. They stayed that way, heavy silence hanging between them.

"I guess it doesn't matter. It's all over now."

"Good."

"Do you want to know what it was about?"

"There's no need to say it out loud, Katya. That only makes it real."

"You're right." She looked at the clock next to Lockheed. "How'd it get so late anyway?"

"You fell asleep when I was telling you the story earlier and I did not want to wake you, although perhaps I should have."

"Yeah," Kitty agreed. "Shoot! I need to get her breakfast," she remembered suddenly.

"Already done. I gave her a Pop Tart. And it was healthy, because there was fruit in it," he said proudly, turning his head so he could see her. Kitty looked over her shoulder and smiled.

"There's no real fruit in Pop Tarts, but least its better than a cookie." She got up and picked one of her shirts off the pile of clothes on the chair. "Let me finish getting dressed and I'll meet you downstairs, 'k?"

"Ok."

"Hey," Kitty called out right as he reached the door. "Wait."

She walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, using his strength to pull herself up level to his mouth. She kissed him deeply until they were both out of breath, and when they broke apart she bit his lower lip gently, not wanting to let go.

"You know I never have nightmares when you're sleeping next to me. But that dream...it felt so real. Promise me Peter, you wont let anything happen to you. Or to Yana."

"I'll keep all of us safe," he swore, his voice brimming with emotion. "I wont let anyone get hurt. Not-" he stopped in mid-sentence, catching himself "-not ever."

"Promise?"

"Always."

He turned to leave, missing the flicker of distrust that passed through Kitty's eyes as he walked away.

* * *

The first thing Rogue saw when the taxi pulled up to the house was a small explosion right next to the driver's side window.

"Give the driver an extra twenty," she whispered to Gambit.

"Sorry!" a female voice called out casually as Rogue got out of the car. "My bad."

"Tabitha?" Rogue asked, surprised to see the blonde haired mutant.

"Hey girl!" she yelled from across the yard. "Nice to see you back. Heads up!" she yelled, throwing a bomb at her target in the bushes a few feet from the taxi.

Rogue stuck her head back in the car where Remy was counting out the bills. "Make that an extra forty."

"Boomer, what's your problem? You almost killed me!" Bezerker yelled, coming out from his hiding spot behind the bushes.

"All part of the game, dude," she called back unapologetically.

"Yeah right. You're just still pissed at me because I sided with Sam after he dumped you for Rahne!"

In retaliation for that comment Tabitha threw a rather large bomb in Ray's direction. On instinct Gambit charged a card and aimed it at the flying explosive, blowing it up safely in mid air, getting the attention of both former New Mutants as the taxi sped away.

"Well I guess I don't have to ask you if you had fun on your trip," Boomer said, eyeing Remy.

"What trip? What are you guys doin' here?"

"We live here," Ray said, walking over to join them.

"No you don't. Ray, you quit and Tabitha joined X-Force."

Tabitha looked at Ray "What's X-Force?" He shrugged. "I think you might have gotten a little to much sun on your trip, Roguey-Roo."

"What trip, Meltdown?" Rogue asked again. Tabitha stared at her blankly.

"Who's Meltdown?"

"You are Tabitha! Did you change it again? First ya were Boom-Boom, then Boomer, then when ya joined X-Force ya changed your name to Meltdown," Rogue explained.

"She's back to the X-Force thing," Tabitha whispered to Ray, loud enough for all four of them to hear.

"Yes! Your team. X-Force! It's run by this guy named Bishop. He's a cop. From the future. Looks kinda like Shaft."

Tabitha turned to Remy. "Has she been, you know," she said, making hand motions like she was drinking out of a bottle.

"Why do Ah even bother," Rogue muttered. "Ah ask you serious questions and all you do is play games. Ya know, this is why you're a part of the fringe team. Because you will never be mature enough to join the real X-Men. Come on, Remy," she said, grabbing Gambit's hand and pulling him in to the mansion.

"You know Chere, if you wanted to hold my hand all you had to do was as-"

"Scott!" Rogue yelled, dropping her grip on Remy so she could wave at the X-Men's leader in the rec room from the foyer.

"Hey!" he called back, getting up to greet her. "You're back early. And you brought a friend. How...special," he grumbled, noticing Gambit at her side.

"Ah'm sorry, Ah know you must have been worried but Ah tried to call you. Rachel!" she yelled, noticing a little red head poking over the couch to watch them. "Why did you hang up on me when Ah called you at Muir?"

"I didn't!" she protested.

"We both heard you!" she shot back.

"Rogue, there must have been some kind of miscommunication," Scott explained, putting an affectionate hand on her shoulder. "Rachel and I haven't been to Muir in months."

"Yeah!" Rachel added, sticking her tongue out at Rogue.

"Rachel!" Scott chastised.

"What?"

"Apologize."

"Sorry," she muttered, rolling her eyes before turning back to the t.v.

"Sorry. Don't mind her, she's just.... a little boisterous today. And Gambit," he said, turning his attention over to Remy. "Good to see you," Scott told him, politely sticking one hand out and moving the other one to Rogue's other shoulder so that his hand was all the way across her back.

"I think I'll wait outside," Remy growled, ignoring the X-Men's leader's outstreched hand.

"Don't mind him," Rogue sighed, turning to face Scott. "He's also just a little boisterous today. But I really do need to talk to you about Muir. How can you not remember being there? And what about Kitty and Peter? Are they here? Are they alright? Do we need to go look for them?"

"Rogue, slow down. I don't know about this Muir thing, but everyone's fine. Kitty and Colossus are fine. They've seemed a little out of it lately, but I guess that's understandable."

"Dad! You're missing the movie!" Rachel yelled at Cyclops.

"Sorry. I promised her we'd watch 'Finding Nemo' together today. After all, she's only seen it what, thirty times? There might still be a line of dialogue she hasn't memorized."

"But-"

"I think Kitty and Peter are out by the pool, if you still want to check on them," Scott told her, walking away. "It's good to have you back, Rogue," he added.

* * *

"Goldfish crackers, you're so delicious, I love you more than all the other fishes," the little blonde haired girl sang before popping one of the orange crackers in her mouth. She was sitting at the table on the outside patio with Peter and Kitty, swinging her legs back and forth. Her hair still wet from swimming and the 'Harry Potter' towel Kitty had bought for her was still wrapped around her waist as she enjoyed her afternoon snack of goldfish and a juice box.

"Did you make that up yourself, Snowflake?" Peter asked, amused by her rhyme.

"Unh-Unh. Dr. Hank taught me." She frowned. "What does 'delicious' mean?"

"Yummy," Kitty told her. "Do you want some more?"

"Nope." She chewed thoughtfully on the edge of the fruit drink's straw for a moment. "When is the bear coming?" she wondered.

Kitty and Piotr looked at each other.

"What bear?" Kitty asked.

"The ring bear. For when you get married. Does he come at night like the Easter Bunny?"

Peter bite his lip to hide his laughter while Kitty dropped her head against the table so she couldn't see her face.

"Nyet, Snowflake, it's ring _bearer. _It's a person who brings the rings," he explained. "I believe it will be Rachel, right Katya?"

She raised her head off the glass. "I think so. But I have to check with Sc- I mean Jean."

"Scott," he corrected quickly.

"Right. Scott."

Illyana stared at them warily.

"So there's no bear?"

"No."

"Oh. Can there be a bear? Cause Mr. Bobby promised me there would be a bear."

"Sorry, little one, the wedding is no bears allowed. But you'll be there, and me, and your mommy and all the X-Men. And after the ceremony will have cake and-"

"Peter, why don't you take Illyana inside for some ice cream," Kitty told him in a strained voice. Piotr looked over and saw her gaze focused on Rogue, who was staring back at them with a pale, shocked expression.

"Da, of course. Come on Snowflake, let's go get some ice cream."

"Hi, Rogue," Illyana said as they walked past her on their way to the kitchen. "Why is she starring at me like that?" she asked Piotr, looking back over her shoulder to the southerner who was watching them walk away, a stunned look still on her face.

"How was Mississippi?" Kitty asked cheerily. Rogue turned her head back and found Kitty standing right in front of her, a huge, friendly smile on her face.

"How...how is she here? How is she still alive?"

"Why wouldn't she be?" Kitty asked in the same happy voice, but Roue saw the muscles in her face tighten and her teeth clench. Without warning, everything seemed to connect in Rogue's mind. The way the mansion's facade had looked familiar but off. How Tabitha hadn't known her code name or her team, and how Ray was still living at the institute. She remembered she had taken time off a long time ago to go back home to Caldecott County right before Kitty and Peter were supposed to get married, only a week before Illyana had been kidnapped.

"This is the past, isn't it?" she asked softly. "Somehow, we got taken back into the past."

Kitty stared at her, looking absolutely terrified. Rogue watched her take a deep breath and close her eyes, clenching her fists tight. When her eyes opened she seemed much calmer.

"I'm so glad you're back, Rogue. I need to ask you about your bridesmaids dress."

"What is wrong with you! Didn't you just hear what said! Don't you understand we're not supposed to be here?"

Kitty looked down at the ground, trying to search for an answer. When she looked up there was a cold glint in her eyes and a cool ferocity to her voice that Rogue had never witnessed before.

"I understand. I just don't care."

* * *

Sorry it's late. My work schedule changed, so I'm going to start posting Friday mornings (except for this chapter which is being posted on Friday night, very bad of me, I know) instead of Thursday's since those have become way too hectic. Anyway, I hope this chapter cleared up some answers, but still left you with some new ones. Next chapter will be more detailed about what happened to the three of them, and what Kitty and Peter's view of the situation is. Oh, and I stole the ring bear thing from my cousin, because when his dad got remarried he was very upset that being the ring bearer didn't mean he got to wear a bear costume. Anyway, If you liked this, please leave a review! If you hated this, please leave a review! Tell me if I do something wrong so hopefully I can make it better. And thank you to all those who left reviews! They are greatly appreciated and fill me with joy! Here's the shout outs:

Jeremy Harper- Thank you for all your kind words! I felt much more confident with each chapter I wrote, it nice to know that it shows in my work. I'm also pleased to know you like the dialogue, as that is the part I enjoy writing the most. It makes me happy to know that I played some small part in finding interest in Kitty and Peter again. I'm very glad to know you're enjoying this story.

SperryDee- No, he's alive! And so is Illyana, and everybody's happy, except for Remy and Rouge and Rachel, at least they are in this chapter.;)

ishandahalf- I'm so sad, I can't watch Passions anymore because my work schedule changed! But in a way it's good because I really think Fox and Whitney are going to hook up, and I do not want to see that. Plus Martin is icky. He keeps going on about how much he loves and misses his family. If you really love your family, you don't abandon them to run away to Mexico with your girlfriend and pretend youre dead for ten years! Sometimes, that show makes me so mad. Anyway, not much Romy in this chapter, sorry bout that, but it needed to get back to it's Kiotrish roots, at least for a chapter or two. But I'm sure you loved this chapter because of the Scott-Rogue interaction, cause I know how much you want those two to get together.;) Romy will have a little talk about what her little comment about him being "boisterous" in either chapter 7 or 8, which of course leads to banter, and Romy banter is the best. Oh yeah, and the Piotr dead thing was just a dream to trip everyone up, it wasn't until after I posted that I realized I probably ended it at the wrong spot, but hopefully this chapter made that chapter make sense.

KittieKat8- it did seem like rogue was warming up to remy, but now that everybody's favorite X-Man Cyclops is back in the picture, who knows? And Remy does seem to be getting a little tired of Rogue's behavior. I guess Peter and Kitty will just have to set an example, or at the very least play matchmaker. And if they don't I think there could be a little red head who would be more than willing to. :)

KagInuLuv- Glad you like the Romy! It will take a backseat for a chapter or two, but it'll pop up soon. It has to, since it's just too much fun to write!:)

Sweety8587- The blast sent them to the past (ooh, that rhymes) but it does seem to be trying to get them to sort out their problems, doesn't it? Rogue will have some theories on why it did that in the next chapter, as Kitty doesn't really seem to care. And thank you for the double chocolate brownie! They're my favorite. I love chocolate!

B- Basically, my rule about the Cajun accents is that if can't understand my own writing, I went to far. I laughed pretty hard at your "Cajun" even though I only understood about half of it. But, yay, I'm making you not hate Remy! That's good, cause he's going to get a little more character development a little later.

emicablue- "angst ridden end", I liked that description! Luckily it's not the end, it was just Kitty's subconscious mind playing tricks on her. Even though, the angst never seems to stay away for long ;)

Lucas'sgirl- Yay! He's not dead, so now you don't have to hurt anyone. Glad you liked the chapter, the Kiotr ratio will be a lot bigger in the next few chapters than it was in the last two, but the next one is mostly explaining what's going on in Kitty and Peter's heads.

The Uncanny R-Man- You know I re-read the last chapter after I posted, and I was confused too. Hopefully it's all starting to make some sense now. By the way, you like the Sam dumping Tabitha for Rahne? I threw that one in just for you. Between your username and your stories, I somehow got the impression that you might have some kind of small affinity for Wolfsbane ;)

epona04- no, you're not thick, that was just a really confusing chapter. This chapter gave a very minimal explanation, but by the end of the next chapter it will all make sense, mostly.

Dark-bat- He's not dead! I can't kill him off yet, can I. Then there would be no more gushy Kiotr moments. Sometimes you just need a bit of random, incoherent angst to even out the fluffiness before going back to the Kiotrness. ;)

DemonRogue13- Glad you liked it!


	7. Chapter 7

****

THE KNIGHT AND THE MAIDEN

CHAPTER 6

* * *

Piotr watched as the familiar contours of her face appeared under the movement of the charcoal. It had been years since he had picked up a sketchbook, and he was amazed at the deftness of his work, how even after all this time his hands could still remember with vivid clarity how to draw every line of her face, the curve of her chin, the shape of her eyes when she smiled.

On the deck chair next to him Kitty was curled up, wearing a pair of cotton pajama shorts and a tank as she read her worn copy of "Dune". The heavy wooden chair creaked and groaned from the movement of her lithe body as she fidgeted relentlessly, searching for a comfortable spot. With a frustrated sigh she gave up, throwing the book on the arm of the chair and leaning over to rest her chin on Peter's shoulder.

"It's beautiful," Kitty said softly as she looked down at the near-finished portrait of herself. She took the sketchpad from his hands, scrutinizing it carefully, a pensive, bittersweet smile on her face. "You always have a way of making me look better than I am."

"I draw you exactly as you are. If you think you look beautiful, it is only because it is the truth."

Kitty gave a half-hearted smile to his comment, feeling only mildly reassured. She wandered over to the railing of their private balcony and looked out over the mansions grounds. The moonlight reflected off the still waters of the slumbering fountain, and in the darkness she could make out the outlines of two figures walking slowly near the edge of the woods, one who looked like Rogue and another she couldn't quite place, who she assumed to be Scott. Kitty looked down at the portrait again, a wave of doubt washing over her as she remembered the conversation she had had with her friend earlier that afternoon.

"No, it's not the truth, Peter. It's just how you see me. This-" she held up the notebook limply for a moment before letting it fall back to her side - "this isn't real." Behind her she heard the creaking of wood from his own chair as he stood up and moved towards her, placing one hand around Kitty's waist while the other gently pulled the sketchbook away from her. She pursed her lips, trying to fight back a smile as he pretended to study the drawing critically before moving his gaze to Kitty's face, then back at the portrait again, then to her, and finally to the drawing one last time, his expression growing more comical with each movement of his head. With a satisfied nod he placed the drawing on the balcony railing and gave a deep, overdramatic sigh as he wrapped his newly free arm around her waist as well.

"You are right, of course," he agreed, his voice full of playfulness. "This is only a bit of charcoal smudged onto paper. It is far eclipsed by the real thing."

His comment was met with Kitty's usual reaction; a roll of the eyes accompanied by an unmistakable blush and a smile that she could never seem to muster enough will-power to fight back. She turned her face towards him, finding a twinkle in his eyes that matched her own. Upon seeing her reaction Peter's own grin widened into a goofy smile that Kitty always found utterly adorable, and the doubt that had plaguing her all night began to quickly fade away.

"You're silly," she told him, rolling her shoulder back to lightly nudge his. "Have I ever told you that?"

"Many times, Katya. But I don't mind. I'd rather be silly than geeky."

She turned her face back and gaped at him, her eyes narrowing in mock resentment. "I am not a geek, Mister!" she protested, picking up the drawing pad to hit him on the arm. He retreated backwards into the bedroom, laughing as she pounded him harder, her unrestrained smile only serving to encourage him further.

"Says the woman who dragged me to the bookstore for the entire day just so we could wait around until midnight for the newest 'Harry Potter' book to be released," he teased.

"It was book seven, Peter. Seven! And it was freakin' awesome. Besides, it's not like the wait was boring. The bookstore had lots of activities. We got to make a golden snitch out of Styrofoam."

He stared at her. "I can't believe I am actually going to marry you," he said, a touch of awe in his voice.

"You're not _going_ to marry me, you _get_ to marry me," Kitty corrected as she put the sketchbook down on the nightstand and pulled the covers off of their bed. "It's a privilege, you know."

"I know. I am a very lucky man. But we still have to plan where we're going after the wedding," he reminded her, sitting down on the bed so she could rest her head on his stomach. "I still think Paris. It is the city of love."

"Oui monsieur, but I know you. I'll never be able to drag you away from the Louve long enough to get any love."

He kicked her lightly with his foot for that comment and she kicked him back playfully, starting a kicking match that ended with them lying next to each other, Kitty running her foot up and down his calf while Peter reached up and turned off the light before moving his arm around her shoulder, lightly stroking her upper arm.

"How is it you can always make me happy?" she wondered aloud as she lay contentedly next to him, her body ready for sleep but her mind resisting in favor of a few more moments with Peter.

"Were you sad before?" he yawned, sounding as though he was fighting off sleep as well.

"No. I was just thinking," she mumbled, "about the talk I had with Rogue."

"You said everything was worked out," he said, his voice more alert, but still a little fuzzy.

"It was, but we still need to talk about it," she reminded him, her eyes still closed. Next to her, she felt his body relax again and she rolled over, reflexively cuddling up tighter to him.

"That can wait for another day. We don't-" he yawned "-need to worry about it now. Unless you think....

"No. No, we don't need to," she agreed, not wanting to think about it either. "Peter?" she asked after hearing no response. "Piotr," she whispered, nudging him awake gently.

"Katya... My Katya. I love you," he mumbled, more asleep than awake. "I am sorry for everything, sorry I don't know how to say it any better than that, but I am and I do. I always have. And you have no need to worry. I won't let anything bad happen. Just as I promised..." he finished groggily before drifting back into a deep sleep.

Kitty stared at his face, amazed how peaceful it was, how unaware of the pain he had just caused her. They had an unspoken agreement not to talk about the past, or the future, whatever she was supposed to call it. It was better that way. It made it easier to ignore all the bad things that had happened. The way he had spoken, he sounded as though his mind wasn't fully awake, and she doubted he would ever remember what he had said to her in the morning. Kitty rubbed her eyes. She was more tired than ever, but at this point sleep seemed impossible. Gently, she phased out of Peter's embrace and padded out to the balcony through the sliding glass doors they left open in hopes of catching a light summer night breeze. The couple near the woods had disappeared and the barren yard did nothing to hold her attention. She turned around, leaning her back against the railing and noticed her book still sitting on the arm of the deck chair. She sat down and grabbed it, opening to a random page and pressing the book close to her face, trying to make out the words with nothing but the pale moon for light.

Hard as she tried to enjoy her book, Kitty's mind kept going back to her conversation with Rogue, the memory of it accompanied by the same queasy, unsettled, sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that came every time she allowed herself to think too much about what was really going on around her. The talk she had with her teammate was brief, but she every word was still imprinted in her mind, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't push the memory of it away.

* * *

"This is the past, isn't it?" Rogue asked softly. "Somehow, we got taken back into the past."

Kitty stared at her, absolutely terrified. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, clenching her fists tight. When her eyes opened she hoped she appeared much calmer.

"I'm so glad you're back, Rogue. I need to ask you about your bridesmaid dress."

"What is wrong with you! Didn't you just hear what said! Don't you understand we're not supposed to be here?" her friend yelled, obviously frustrated with Kitty's decision to ignore the situation at hand.

She looked down at the sidewalk, trying to search for an answer. Much as she didn't want to, she knew she'd have to face reality for this. Rogue was too much of a threat to leave to chance. Kitty set her mouth into a firm, thin line, trying to look as intimidating as possible. "I understand. I just don't care."

Rogue stared at her, hurt and a little shocked. Kitty immediately felt guilty, realizing she had been going about this the wrong way. She wasn't dealing with an enemy, she was dealing with one of her best friends. Her expression softened, and she allowed Rogue to see the sadness etched upon her face. "All I know," she told her quietly, "is that I had a really bad dream. And it seemed like it had gone on forever. Now it's over. And I have Peter back. And we have our family back. And I can't bring myself to care about anything else. It just doesn't seem important."

"But Kitty, this, this isn't real," she warned gently.

Kitty shook her head, refusing to meet Rogue's eyes. "It was once. It can be again."

"Does anyone else...do the X-Men even know what's goin' on?"

"No! Rogue, please don't tell them," she pleaded, unable to cover the trace of desperation in her voice.

"Have you looked around here, Kit? Ah mean really looked? Things are wrong. Jean's still dead and Rachel is still the same age she was in the future and-"

"I thought about that. Maybe whoever or whatever sent us here wasn't strong enough to bring back Phoenix. And if Ray inherited Jean's powers, then they couldn't change her either.

"You think she knows?"

"Rachel? She hasn't said anything, but I wouldn't put it past her. It's alright though. She knows how to keep a secret, if she has to. She'll keep this one."

"You know Ah have to tell 'em," Rogue told her, gently but firmly.

"I know. But I'm not asking you to keep silent forever. It's just...this is the past. And if we change the past, we change the future, right? We can save Illyana. All the pain, it doesn't have to happen. Not this time. Five days, Rogue, that's when it starts. Please, just play along till then. After we save her, I promise I'll tell them everything myself."

"But why don't you just-"

"Rogue, please. This morning, I had a nightmare that we weren't in the past after going into Braddock Manor. I dreamed that Illyana was still dead, and that Peter had died in the tunnels, and even though it was just a dream it felt so real and the memory of the pain, it still lingers. Now that were all here, and were all alive, I can't lose either of them again. I can't handle that. So please, help us save our little girl,"she begged.

"How do you know she can even be saved?"

"Because we're willing to do whatever it takes. Trust me, not even Apocalypse himself will be able to get through us. Don't ruin this. Please," she implored, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Alright," she relented, her expression showing she was clearly agreeing against her better judgment. Kitty flung her arms around her and squeezed her tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she squealed, near tears, a huge, relieved grin on her face. In that moment of elation she truly believed everything was going to be okay.

"Kitty?" she asked, sounding troubled.

"Yeah?" she asked, still hugging her.

"What would you have done if Ah said Ah wouldn't help?"

Kitty pulled back from the hug and stared at her friend, her expression unreadable. "I don't know. And I don't want to think about it."

"Hey! We're not done! We still need to talk!" Rogue called after her as she turned to walk away to her family in the kitchen.

"We will," she shouted back over her shoulder as she made her way to the mansion. "Later!"

* * *

Kitty finally pushed the memory back and gave up on trying to read, dropping the book on the sea of the chair and wandering back into her room. Peter was still asleep, snoring peacefully. She walked past his side of the bed, punching him on the side of his left leg, right below the knee. She had discovered years ago that this act somehow seemed to quell his snores, at least for a few minutes. Kitty climbed lightly back into bed and settled against his, picking up his arm and placing it around her shoulder. He pulled her tighter to his chest, but otherwise gave no sign he might be awake. In his arms was the one place she always felt the safest. Because as long as she was in his arms, he would always protect her. Nothing bad could ever seem to touch her, not even her own memories or overactive imagination.

"Love you, Piotr," she whispered, before closing her eyes and letting sleep find her.

* * *

Author's note: Sorry this is late, I had computer problems. I broke the power outlet jack plug thingy, so I had to ship it to the manufacturer in New Jersey to be fixed. I just got it back last night and spent the whole night looking up stuff on "Astonishing X-Men" and getting my hopes up that Colossus may be coming back to the comics. Yay! Unless it's not him and it's that stupid other character they're bringing back. But I have faith in Whedon. I think all the obvious hints about the other character is just to throw us off. Yeah, it's probably wishful thinking, but I still have my hope. Anyway, hoped you liked this chapter, please leave a review, they make me happy. And many thanks to the people who left one last time, they are much appreciated!

B- Yep, Kitty's hanging on pretty good, at least for now. But she's still got a lot of emotional baggage to deal with. Happy to know you liked the chapter!

Lucas'sgirl- Yeah, this story is pretty weird, but then again, so am I, so it fits. Glad to know you like the story!

Dark-bat- I'm glad you're liking the story, but oh my God, if you make that movie I promise I will so pay to go see it. Especially the Brad Pitt scenes. And if the actors don't want to do it, just promise them an Oscar. I know a souvenir shop on Hollywood and Vine that sells really nice plastic ones.

ishandahalf- Miguel is leaving the show! Forever? That's so sad. Is he being replaced by another actor or is it one of those really long vacations like Grace is having so the actors can have time off? He can't leave, he's the cutest guy there! And oddly enough, the sanest of all his siblings. This news makes me sad. Anyways, very little Romy action in this one, although I will say the person Kitty saw walking with Rogue wasn't Scott. Some Romy in the next chapter, but most of it belongs to the boys, so Remy and Peter can finally get a little more development and I can deal with that little plot hole of Rogue already telling Remy on the plane about what happens in the future. And about Kitty and Peter wanting to stay in the past, it is weird, and definitely not healthy, and what happened in this chapter was only kind of the tip of the ice burg, so that could maybe cause some problems down the road. Only problem is that would get in the way of the fluff. And I like fluff :)

KittieKat8- Glad you liked it! Staying in the past would be nice, but I'm not always very nice to the characters, am I? ;) I love the idea of the ring bear being a bear that steals the ring! That is too cute!

DemonRogue13- Glad you like it. The Kitty waking up in another place was the dream she was having before Peter came and woke her up. Sorry that wasn't explained very well, hopefully it makes more sense now. Unless of course, I'm just lying to you and the whole past thing is the dream and thr Peter being dead thing is reality.;)

epona04- glad you liked it! Thanks for all the compliments. I love all the slang you use!

The Uncanny R-Man- Yeah, so the Peter being dead thing was a really poorly explained nightmare that Kitty had. Sorry about that, it was confusing. Unless, like I told DemonRogue, I could just be lying and the past is the dream and that was really reality. Or maybe I've just had way too much caffeine and now sound like a crazy person, which is usually the case.

Thanks for all the reviews!


	8. Chapter 8

_**THE KNIGHT AND THE MAIDEN**_

_**CHAPTER 8**_

For Jeremy Harper_**

* * *

**_Kitty was lying next to him, nestled close. Her head rested in the crook of his neck and his arms were wrapped around her, moving with the slow, methodical rise and fall of her chest. The sun shone down against his back, his large body shielding most of Kitty's lithe frame from the harsh early morning light, save only a few rays which spilled over his broad shoulders and onto her tousled hair, making it glitter a golden hue. Impatient for his fiancee to wake up, Piotr tilted his head down, placing soft kisses from her shoulders up to the nape of her neck. He looked back at her face to see if she was awake, but her eyes stayed closed and her peaceful breathing remained steady. He bent down again, this time moving his kisses higher, starting at the side of her chin and working his way up to the end of her jaw line. 

"Mmm," she sighed. Peter moved to stare at her face. Her eyes were still shut, but her breathing had quickened and a playful smile lit up her face. He grinned in return, his hands reaching to caress her arm as he simultaneously lowered his head to kiss her ear. At the same moment Kitty moved to sit up, her forehead colliding with his face.

"Sorry!" she apologized, holding in a giggle as she noticed Piotr covering his mouth and the bottom of his nose with his hand. "Are you ok?" she asked, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"By noze," he groaned. "Id hurts."

A bemused laugh bubbled out of her. "Awww," she fussed. "Do you want me to kiss it and make it better?"

Peter removed his hand from his face and stared at her in bewilderment. "Of course, Katya. How else would it heal?"

Kitty cupped her hands around his face, tilting it towards her so she could reach the tip of his nose with her lips, and pressed down gently. "Better?"

"Nyet," he sighed, giving a solemn shake of his head. "It hurts here, too," Peter explained, pointing to his mouth. Keeping her hands against his face, she reached up again to give him a small, tender kiss. "Still hurts," he complained as soon as their lips parted. Kitty moved back and gave him another kiss, this time longer and more intense. "Again," he insisted as she began to move away.

Kitty pursed her lips and stared at him. "You're gonna milk this for all it's worth, aren't you?"

His face broke into a smile, his sapphire blue eyes shining with affection. "Without a doubt."

"Good," she grinned, moving in to kiss him again.

* * *

"You missed the training session. Again." 

Scott Summers was standing at the bottom of the stairs. His expression was cross and his posture tense, with his arms folded sternly across his chest as he stood in front of Kitty, Peter, and Illyana, blocking their path as they tried to make their way to the swimming pool. "You were supposed to be there at six sharp, Kitty. This is the third session you missed this week!"

"I was busy," she said defensively as she stopped on the last stair, the added height making her nearly eye level with her team's captain.

"Doing what?" he asked. Kitty blushed a pale pink, stealing a glance at Peter before ducking her head in an attempt to hide her smile."The Danger Room is free," Scott continued. "Take an hour to go practice. That's an order." She nodded in response. "Look Kitty," he said, his voice losing the hard edge, "I know you have other things on your mind, with the wedding and all, but you still have a job to do. We all do, ok?"

"Yeah, ok," Kitty told him apologetically. "Scott?" she asked as he began to stride away. "Sorry for skipping out on practice."

Cyclops gave her a small smile. "It's already forgotten. Just don't let it show on the next mission."

"Lucky he's not my team leader," Piotr whispered as soon as Scott was out if earshot. "Storm is much more lenient." Kitty slapped him on the arm.

"Don't gloat," she admonished.

"Does this mean were not going swimming?" Illyana piped in, sounding more than a little disappointed.

"No munchkin, Daddy can still take you," Kitty told her, reaching up to tousle her long, blonde hair as she stepped off the stairs and into the hall. "I be back in an hour."

* * *

With skilled deftness she jumped, executing a perfect flip before landing steadily on the other end of the rail. This was one of Kitty's favorite scenarios, one she had programmed into the Danger Room years ago. The design was based on the old metal balance beam no more than half a foot off the ground in a park her parents used to take her to in Deerfield, back when she was only a child. She had loved the balance beam for it's simplicity; just one straight path, easy to follow. No choices, no surprises. Just follow the bar down one way until the end, pivot, and come back the other. 

She jumped down and pulled off her shoes before remounting the beam, basking in the solitude and finding comfort in the repetition of her movement. Kitty continued this exercise in stability for half an hour, unwinding, letting her mind flow free, indulging in a flip or a cartwheel here and there She closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the metal against the flat of her foot, and smiled.

Without warning the balance beam disappeared and she stumbled onto the ground, landing on all fours. Hearing a noise behind her, Kitty whirled her head around to find herself facing a large olive colored creature with a high forehead and a scaly insect-like body, complete with glowing yellow eyes. It hissed at her, barring its razor sharp teeth before turning to swing it's horned tail towards her. Kitty phased through the creature's attack, solidifying as soon as it's appendage had passed through her. Before she could even inhale she was thrown off her feet as another one appeared and slammed into her body from behind. Ignoring the pain in her arm she phased again, letting herself sink into the ground just as the second attacker pounced on her. Kitty ran, still intangible, underneath the floor. She resurfaced on the other side of the creatures, then air walking her way up through the observation window and into the Control Room.

"What was that for?" she demanded, glaring at Wolverine. Her teammate was standing in front of the controls, arms crossed sternly in front of his chest. His gaze was focused on creatures wandering around the Danger Room, hissing and clawing as they searched for their prey. With a shake of his head Logan reached and pushed the controls, making Kitty's attacker's fade away as the balance beam reappeared.

"That ain't much of a challenge, least not for you," he told her, motioning to the image below.

"What's wrong with wanting to do something the easy way every once in a while?" she asked, still irritated with him for interrupting her session.

"Nothin. Just takin' the easy route has a way of screwin' you over in the long run, pun'kin," he told her calmly, grabbing her arm to look at fresh gash on her right bicep.

"You couldn't have left the safety controls on?" she grumble, jerking her arm away from him.

"No safety controls in real life," Wolverine told her bluntly. "When I had those things attack you, you're mind wasn't on the game. That'll cost you on a mission," he warned, his face softening as he looked at her. "I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"I can handle a mission," she guaranteed earnestly. Her old friend stared at her, searching for truth in her eyes. Kitty stood up a little straighter and held his gaze along with her breath, relaxing only after she saw a faint satisfied smile playing at the corner of his lips.

"Good, 'cause we leave for one in ten minutes. And One-Eye will probably have a heart attack if you're late."

* * *

Peter was sitting out by the pool, his legs spread out on the lounge chair. One ocean-blue eye was focused on examining his flaws in the work he held before him while the other kept watch over Illyana as she splashed around in the twinkling water. 

Two soft hands slid lightly over both sides of his face, blocking his vision. "Guess who?" he heard Kitty whisper, her breath warm as it tickled his ear.

"Katya! You're early," he exclaimed, jumping at the sound of her voice. Immediately, he turned his sketchbook around and threw it on to the ground. Kitty lifted her hands from his eyes and pursed her lips, giving a tiny frown to Peter as he turned to look at her over his shoulder. "And you're leaving," he realized, noticing she was still wearing her uniform.

"And you're hiding something," she stated flatly, staring with dull disappointment at the drawing pad lying face down on the cement.

"No, it's just that I did not wish to upset you again, as I did last night," he explained, picking up his work and handing it to her. Kitty stared down at Peter's drawing, the same one he had started the night before, only now more detailed and nearly complete. "Your face is the shape my hand is most comfortable with," he continued, "and despite what you believe, Katya, I find you to be very beautiful."

Kitty sat on the edge of the lounger next to him, letting her chin drop into her cupped hands. "I'm sorry Peter," she sighed. "You know how I get. I over think things, and then little things become big things, and big things become huge things, and things that shouldn't even be things at all become these giant, all-encompassing...and I'll stop now, because I have to be at the hanger in three minutes, and I don't want to waste all my time babbling about nothing when I could be kissing you goodbye."

"If you insist," he grinned lasciviously, his arms reaching out to gently lead her hands towards him. Peter placed them on his shoulders then grabbed the metal frame of the her lounger, dragging it across the cement until it was only a few inches away from him. Kitty hands moved up from his shoulders, curling around his neck, her eyes fluttering closed as her lips parted against his. Peter kissed her with a burst of tenderness and passion, his hand running up and down her back. "Are you sure you only have three minutes?" he murmured, kissing her on the side of her face above her cheekbone.

"Yeah," Kitty sighed, "I-"

"-Mommy!" Illyana called out, waving furiously from the spot she was standing at near the edge of the deep end of the pool.

"Hi Blondie!" Kitty waved back cheerfully.

"Watch me!" the young Russian yelled as she raised her arms in preparation to jump, checking to make sure Peter and Kitty were looking before diving into the water with a splash.

"-Have a mission," Kitty said, finishing her earlier sentence.

"What kind?" he asked apprehensively.

"Just- Wow! That was really cool, Illyana," Kitty said as she resurfaced.

"Very impressive," Peter agreed, pleased to see the little girl's face break into a huge, triumphant smile as she climbed out of the pool. As soon as her feet were on the wet pavement she broke into a run, hurrying back to her diving spot. "Illyana!" Peter bellowed, his voice a mix of fear and anger. Kitty's hand immediately went to his knee, squeezing it comfortingly. "But she could fall," he explained, his eyes still full of worry and remorse. "And I think I have scared her."

"It's alright. She's fine," Kitty soothed. "Don't run!" Shadowcat instructed as the little girl stared at them wide-eyed, unsure of what she had done wrong.

Illyana nodded, relieved that she wasn't in trouble. "Watch me again!" she yelled animatedly.

"Ok, but don't run," Kitty reminded before she jumped back in the water. "Just some crisis situation in Boston. I think Cyke mostly wants us there for damage control." Kitty said, quickly answering his earlier question. "Very cool, munchkin! Even better than the first one," she complimented, frowning as Illyana raced to the other side of the water.

" Illyana! If you run near the pool again, swim time will be over ! " Piotr warned firmly in Russian. The blonde child frowned, but slowed her pace, walking over near the pool steps to grab her diving sticks, a pout marring her face.

"It's ok, she stopped," Kitty reassured him, her hand still resting on his knee. "And I should be back late," she continued distractedly, going back to their previous conversation as they both stared ahead, watching Illyana to make sure she followed the rules. "Will you be ok for dinner?"

"I can-" he started.

"-Look at this!" Illyana shouted energetically, the earlier reprimand already forgotten. She threw the multi-colored diving sticks into the water, letting them sink to the bottom of the deep end. After they had settled on the pool floor she looked over at Kitty and Peter, making sure their attention was still focused on her.

"We're watching!" Peter assured, watching her dive in. "I can" he repeated, "fend for myself. And for the little one. Be safe."

"Always am," she promised, kissing him lightly on the mouth. "I love you. No pizza," she ordered, pointing her index finger at him in mock warning.

"All right," he conceded with a groan, grabbing her finger to pull her closer for a longer kiss. "Love you, too."

The sound of breaking water turned their attention to the pool as Illyana popped back up. "I got all of them!" she crowed, her voice full of pride as she swam to the edge of the pool and placed the diving sticks on the water covered cement. Kitty smiled at her exuberance, picking up a lone diving stick that had managed to roll away from the rest. Illyana had moved to the rim of the pool, holding onto it as she splashed her legs back and forth, watching her mother walk closer.

"Are you sure you're not a fish?" Kitty teased as she returned the stick to the pile.

"Unh-Unh, I'm a person," she said matter-of-factly, breathing heavy as she continued to thrash her legs about in the water.

"If you say so," she said with a laugh, enjoying the moment before her expression sobered. "Sweetie, I have to go, but I'll be home soon." A worried frown creased Illyana's face and she stopped kicking, her eyes-downcast, refusing to look at Kitty. "Take care of Daddy, ok?" she asked gently.

The blonde Russian nodded, a solemn, determined look replacing the frown on her face. "Ok," she agreed, inwardly pleased to be trusted with such a serious responsibility.

"Good girl. Love you, munchkin," she told her, placing an affectionate kiss on top of her wet head.

"Love you," she repeated back, holding her arms out. Kitty bent down and let her wrap them around her neck, reaching out to grab her waist and pull her out of the pool. Illyana clung tightly to the brown haired woman, burying her head against her stomach. Kitty hugged the little girl back, not caring that her uniform was getting soaked by the dripping wet child. With one last squeeze, she released her daughter, feeling familiar tears forming in her eyes that always accompanied the hollow feeling she felt every time her job called for her to leave her family. Illyana grabbed onto her hand, gripping it with all her might as Kitty led her over to Peter.

"Are you finished, Snowflake?" Piotr asked, holding up her towel. Illyana nodded mutely, reaching out with her free hand to grab it from him. Peter moved the towel higher, just above her reach. "Are you sure?" he inquired. Illyana glanced sideways at the pool, staring at it longingly. "I don't know," she said quietly, looking up at Kitty.

"It's alright. You don't have to leave just 'cause I do," Kitty assured her. Illyana looked over at Peter, who nodded his agreement.

"You don't mind?" she asked in a small voice, a touch of hopefulness shining through.

"Go have fun," Kitty encouraged.

"Don't worry Snowflake, I will take care of you," Peter added earnestly. Kitty placed her hand on his back and smiled lovingly at him.

"But who will take care of Mommy?" she questioned, her eyes still full of worry.

"Don't worry, kiddo," Shadowcat said lightly. "This is one mission I can promise, with absolute certainty, that I won't get in any trouble at all."

"Promise?" Illyana asked warily.

"Pinkie swear," she guaranteed, holding out her finger. The little blonde girl grabbed it, giving into a smile as Kitty shook their locked fingers up and down vigorously.

"To be precise Katya, you might get in some trouble," Peter added, holding up his wrist. "You're five minutes late."

"Great, Scott's gonna kill me! Will you alright?" she asked Illyana. The child nodded, putting on a brave face. "That's my Little Snowflake. Love you," she said again, giving her one last hug. "Love you, too," Kitty added, giving Piotr a final kiss. "Bye," she called out, rushing towards the house. "Remember, no pizza!"

Kitty ran towards the lower level elevator, nearly crashing into Rogue and Rachel in the foyer. Rachel was wearing a pink bathing suit and carrying a towel. Rogue stayed dressed in her normal long sleeved clothes, trailing a few steps behind.

"You guys going out to the pool?" Kitty asked, surprised to see the two of them together.

"Yeah," Rachel said, looking a bit peeved with her company.

"Illyana's out there. You two can play," she suggested.

"I know."

"Course you do."

* * *

"See how I shaded the cheeks? It makes her smile look like it lights up her whole face," Piotr explained, showing his portrait of Kitty to Illyana. The little girl sat snuggled up to her father and took the sketchpad from his hands."But I still can not seem to get the eyes the way they should be."

"I think she looks pretty."

"Would you like to try one of your own?" he offered, turning to a blank page.

She pushed the paper back towards him. "My drawings are never as good as yours," she pouted.

Colossus smirked. "You believe your's are bad? You should see Mommy's." Illyana giggled innocently, her nose crinkling as she laughed. "Oh, hello Rachel," he said, noticing the red head standing next to them, watching them laugh with a doleful expression on her face. "Why don't the two of you go play," he encouraged, taking the drawing pad back from Illyana's tiny hands as the two girls went off to the pool.

"Hey there, Petey," Rouge said, taking the seat next to him.

Colossus did a double take, surprised to see his teammate still at the mansion. "Are you not going on the mission, Rogue?"

"Nope. Got roped into babysitting duty. Lucky me," she muttered, putting on a pair of black sunglasses.

"Are you sure you should not be going?" he pressed. "What if they need someone with your abilities?"

"They took Cannonball with 'em this time, and there's always Beast. And even if they didn't, Kit can handle herself. You don't need to worry," Rogue assured him.

"I know. But I will anyhow."

She pulled her shades down the bridge of her nose and looked over at him, taking note of the disquieted expression on his face. and "It bugs ya, don't it? Not fightin' next ta her."

"No. It nearly kills me." Peter sat quietly for a moment. "But it has to be this way. If something were to happen to her team, or to my own, at least one of us will still be left. Illyana will not have to be alone." He held up the sketchpad in his hands and started at the drawing. "It is a terrible thing you know, to be alone." Peter shook his head and looked over at the two girls splashing about in the water. "Is that not the reason Scott did not take you on his team today? For Rachel's sake?"

"Hmph. Are you kiddin, Petey? That girl would rather spend the resta her life in a pit fulla vipers than with me. But you remember what this mission is. Remember, how Scott was afraid it was gonna end up bein' high profile? He wanted to take the heroes of the Blue Team. Not..." she trailed off, glad that her sunglasses were shielding her eyes. "Ah'd have liked to have gone to Boston, though. Ah have a lot of memories there."

"I very much doubt that is how Cyclops explained it," Peter argued sensibly.

"Nah," she agreed. "He said he thought it was best to keep me out of the public eye for awhile longer. Not that Ah can blame him," she continued, sounding faraway. "Ah killed someone."

Peter continued to stare ahead with dull, sorrowful blue eyes as he watched his little snowflake race Rachel across the pool, water flying everywhere. His posture had changed with Rogue's words. His broad shoulders fell limply at his sides and his head hung heavy in disgrace. With his giant form the Russian mutant reminded her of Atlas, tired and weary from bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders for far too long. Rogue looked away, unsure of how to approach the subject.

"You know Ah talked to Kitty about, you know, all this." Her comment was met with silence. "Peter? You still here?"

"What is it you wish me to say, Rogue?" he asked brusquely

"Ah...Ah don't know. Nothin', Ah guess," she responded. "Did you know Gambit was here?" she asked a moment later.

"At the mansion? No, I was unaware of that," the dark haired Russian murmered absentmindedly, his attention still focused on the water. His head snapped toward her, realizing the possible problems this could lead to. Piotr studied her face, seeing the worry on her face even with her eyes shielded by her sunglasses. "We need to get him away from here!" he demanded.

"It's ok, Peter," Rogue assured him quietly. "Ah talked to him last night. He knew, but I got him to think I had been lying to him to try to keep him away. It got him to leave. Besides, it's what was best for him," she said, her voice full of resignation. The southerner gaze turned to the spot her friend had previously been staring at and watched the two girls play. "And for her," she added.

"Spaceeba, Rogue. For all that you have done."

She forced a smile. "No prob. Ah get it, you know. If Ah had the chance to turn back time, to not have killed Carol...Ah just get it." Peter didn't respond. "You still not gonna say anything? You remember the time, after you left Genosha and came back to Westchester, when Ah came in your room and tried to convince ya to call Kitty? Ya came so close to tellin' me everything then, Peter, an' then at the last second you just shut me out. Ah don't expect you to open up ta me, but Kitty, she needs ta know why you did all those things. If y'all don't work through that, this is gonna fall apart."

"Nyet!" he yelled, loud enough to draw Rachel and Illyana's attention. No," he repeated, his voice dropping to a quieter level. "There is nothing to work through. I have not done anything except love Katya and Illyana. And I will continue to love them, and protect them. I will never allow anyone to hurt them, that I promised Katya. I wont fail her. I know how lucky I am. To be here with her, to be a family...it is far more than I deserve."

Piotr stopped talking and started ahead, his face completly stoic. It wasn't until Illyana left the pool and ran towards him that he showed a spark of life.

"I'm hungry," she announced, wrapping her towel around her and slipping her feet into her yellow flip flops.

"Alright Snowflake, le't get some lunch." He grinned mischievously. "How does pizza sound?"

"It sounds like you're going to get in a lot of trouble."

"You have a point. Lets settle for peanut butter sandwiches."

* * *

Sorry this is so late, I had terrible writer's block. The next chapter should be up in about two weeks. Anyway, here's a preview of the nest few chapters:

Chapter 9- We find out what Kitty's mission is and a little more about what's going on in Piotr's head. Plus, a whole group of guest stars.

Chapter 10- One word: Romy

And for all the Kiotr fans, you should really read "Deathless" by Jeremy Harper in the Comics section. It's a great, well written story that I know you'll all enjoy. Thank you so much for all your reviews, they really help when I'm in a writer's block stage like this.

Amokitty-Thank you so much for your review! Ironically, I'm also not to keen on Evolution stories compared to comic canon, but I think Evo is much easier to write, since I don't have to worry about 40 years of continuity getting in the way. I'm glad you think it reads more like a comic, in this fics prequel I was trying to phase out a lot of the more annoying cartoon elements, like Kitty's valley girl accent and Lance. I'm also very pleased to know you like the characterization of the rest of the cast. I was a little worried about Scott, since I never particularly cared for him until quite recently (I blame Whedon and Jeremy Harper for that change of heart) and I thought I was making him a little one dimensional then usual. As for whats in store for Kitty and Peter, well, I guess I can't ruin the surprise, can I?;) Thanks so much for your review!

Jeremy Harper- Thank you for all your support! It makes me very pleased to know you liked the last chapter. This one didn't have as much on Peter as I had planned, since I tried to cram way too much into one chapter in my outline. Anyway, the next chapter will pick up right where this one leaves off, so lots more Peter characterization is coming, although I get the feeling you have a pretty solid grasp on his state of mind already. As for Kitty being a s.f./fantasy fan, it's just one of those things that bugs me in the comics, that was such a huge part characterization in the early years, and one of the reasons I liked her. It's a shame, I can't remember when her character has been written well since towards the end of Excalibur, although there was one short scene in Uncanny 37? where she asked Peter if she had been as much of a pain in the neck as Marrow when she joined the X-Men, and Colossus just laughed and told her she had been a pain in areas much lower. Anyway, at least Whedon has a good handle on her. There was even a Harry Potter reference in Astonishing 1. Again, thank you for all your support and advice. I really appreciate it.

KittieKat8-Glad you liked the last chapter! Sorry this one took so long. You think Illyana should be saved? I don't know, I love happy endings, but that would give me one less way to torture the characters. I guess it's a toss up of what I could do with Illyana's character, although I have already picked if she lives or dies. You'll just have to keep reading to find out! ;)

ishandahalf- Fox really is the resident cute guy on Passions if Miguel is gone. Sigh. I guess they'll bring Paloma back to Harmony to make up for Pilar losing yet another child(although unlike Miguel, losing Antonio was a good thing. Probably one of the best moments in the history of the show). Of course, that's just what the show needs, another annoying, whining girl. She can spend all her time hanging out with Charity, Whitney, and Gwen, I'm sure they'll get along great. Oh, but I did manage to see most of the episode where TC found out about Eve, and Liz has definitly become most hateable female character in my opinion. What an evil witch she is. I guess Whitney must take after her aunt. Anyway, now you have to forgive me for two late updates and a major lack of romy. Im saving them for a little while down the road and we'll find out why he left again. And just because he left doesn't mean he can't come back (hint hint). Oh, and as for Rachel, there's some stuff to learn about her and Rogue, since they both have unrevealed reasons for not liking each other, Rogue's reason being quite recent. She did explain the future stuff, but how exactly it happened wont be revealed until Chapter 10 (the romy chapter), but the next one is all Piotr, and a few guest stars for comic relief.

epona04- Glad you liked it! The next chapter will have some heavier elements to it, but also a group of New guest stars to keep it from getting too angsty. Thanks so much for your slang-filled review :)

Lucas'sgirl- The romyness is coming! I have a feeling Remy will be making a few more appearances, though not until at least chapter 10, since chapter 9 will guest star a few new faces, all but one who never got to make Evo appearances. But I'm glad you like the Kiotrness. Stay tunned for romy!

DemonRogue13- Happy you liked it! This chapter hopefully made a little more sense about why Rogue would agree to help Kitty so quickly. Expect a lot more Rogue explanations down the line. She still has a few secrets. ;)

B-I know what you mean about 'Paper Flowers', I've been waiting for that one, too. Luckily I have 'Deathless' for my weekly Kiotr fix. And there are so many rumors about Colossus coming back in Astonishing. I even talked to someone who said he knew someone at marvel who told him some info on how, but you never know what's true online. I was so sure it was him until today when I heard official Marvel news that makes me think it's Jean who's coming back. But I still have hope for Piotr. I'm just waiting for the 25th. 'm really sorry to hear about your family medical problems, I know how much that can suck. I hope everything gets better for you soon.

The Uncanny R-Man- Happy to know my story's back to making sense, I know it was kind of confusing for awhile. I haven't spent much time online lately, mainly because when I do my computer shuts down after about five minutes, but I'm really looking forward to reading your comics Wolfsbane story, especially now that I've finally finished this chapter. I'm sure I'll like it as much as I like Dougie. :)

Dark-bat- Yay, my story got compared to truffles! That's one of my favorite foods, and so much better than casserole, especially any kind of casserole with ham in it. I can't eat ham. Makes me think of Wilbur from Charlotte's Web. Anyway, about the story, Piotr is in the 'past' along with Kitty and Rogue. Lots more Peter in the next chapter, actually it was supposed to be in this one according to my outline, but then this chapter would never end.

Thank you all so much for reviewing!


	9. Chapter 9

**_THE KNIGHT AND THE MAIDEN_**

**_CHAPTER 9_**

* * *

The Blackbird touched down on a secluded road just outside Boston. Six teenagers sat on the curb, watching as their headmaster went over to greet the team, their headmistress keeping her distance, her white stilettos tapping against the sidewalk in frustration. Behind them the Massachusetts Academy lay in ruble, thick smoke still rising in the air. 

"You're late," Emma Frost remarked, her voice full of cold detachment.

"Sorry about that, Ems" Kitty chirped innocently, finding satisfaction in watching the blonde woman's already pursed expression tighten further. "My fault."

_"Tell me, Katherine, have you hit puberty since the last time I saw you? Judging by the size of your chest, I'd say no,"_ Emma shot back, projecting the words into her head.

"Paige!" Cannonball yelled, rushing from the Blackbird to his little sister, giving her a quick hug before grabbing her shoulders and checking for injuries.  
  
"I'm fine, Sam," she told him quietly. "I husked just in time."

"Unfortunately, it appears we can't say the same about the school," Beast remarked, watching the dark smoke billow endlessly up into the blue summer sky.

"Who did this, Sean?" Cyclops demanded, his solemn, grave expression hidden behind the thick ruby quartz of his visor. "Friends of Humanity? Black Tom?"

"Tuh," Emma huffed, a taut, derisive smile pulling at the corners of her glossy white coated lips. "Why worry about villains attacking us when our own students are perfectly capable of causing more than enough damage on their own?"

"Now Emma, lass, we've talked about this," Sean soothed wearily, trying to calm his friend's agitation. "Kids make mistakes, it's all apart of learnin' an' growin' up," he explained in his convivial Irish brogue.

"I understand that, Sean," she snapped, "and up until now I've taken those mistakes, along with their flagrant disrespect of every rule I've ever given them, with a grain of salt. But when they bloody well blow up my school-"

"The students did this?" Iceman interrupted, his attention finally being drawn away from Emma's breasts, which he had been staring at since exiting the plane. The strikingly attractive telepath's eyes curved into dangerously narrow slits and she folded her arms deliberately across her chest, refocusing her temper.

"Congratulations, Mr. Drake, you've figured it out. I'd give you a prize for your scintillating display of intellect, but it seems all my possessions have been reduced to little more than ash." She turned to Scott, brazenly staring down the leader of the X-Men. "I sincerely hope Charles doesn't expect me to pay for the reconstruction, seeing how I-"

"Emma, I'll handle this," Sean ordered, his voice leaving no room for argument.

"I am headmistress of this school-"

"Aye, that's true, but your shrieking right now is more painful to listen to than my voice when I use me powers."

Emma gapped at him, then turned away with a scowl. "I always knew I liked that man," Kitty muttered, watching the blonde telepath saunter away in a blur of white to stand next to her children and sulk.

"She means well, she just has a habit of comin' on a little strong," Banshee explained guiltily to the remaining group. "But no matter now. This was all just an accident, Scott. Let's just say some of me students need a bit more work on how not to let their emotions control their powers."

There headmaster's comment drew snickers from Angelo and Jubilee, while Jono and Paige looked down at the sidewalk, refusing eye contact.

"Paige?" Cannonball asked, looking at his sister in surprise.

"I'll explain it later," she shushed him, her eyes still focused on the ground. "In private."

"Have the police come by yet?"

"Local cops only. Emma took care of it."

"Simple minded creatures, the lot of them," she drawled haughtily, the use of her name drawing her back into the conversation. "As far as they're concerned, it was an unfortunate gas leak. But I have no doubt there will be a follow up investigation. The Massachusetts Academy is a very prestigious school, and there are a fair share of high powered individuals expecting to send their children here for the fall term in less than two weeks. Not to mention the damage Frost Industries Stocks will suffer once the media finds out."

"One problem at a time, Emma," the X-Men team leader sighed. "As far as the public knows, this is nothing but a high end boarding school, not a training ground for the next generation of X-Men. So lets go through the remains, see if we can salvage anything from the rubble that might cause suspicion. Once it's checked out, Hank and I can help you write a press statement. And until the school is rebuilt, the team can all stay in Westchester with us."

"What do you want us to do, boss?" Jubilee asked Cyclops, ready for whatever mission was thrown her way.

"Stay here and try to stay out of trouble," he ordered, walking away with the rest of the adults.

"That is _so_ rude," Jubilee muttered after their retreating figures, flouncing back down on the curb. "It's not like any of this was my fault."

"Yeah, smooth move, man," Skin said dryly, slapping Chamber on the back. "Here's a tip: next time a chica tries to kiss you, don't try to blow her up."

Jono hung his head. If it had been anyone but Paige who had induced that reaction from him, his blast probably would have killed them. "Or crippled them," he thought to himself, remembering Gayle, the girlfriend he paralyzed when his powers kicked in for the first time. "I'm sorry, gel," he apologized telepathically to the blonde Southern beauty, "I don't know what-"

"It's okay, Jono," Paige muttered softly, "I shouldn't have kissed you. I know better now."

"What's with all this moping?" Jubilee piped back in, snapping a piece of trademark pink bubblegum. "You guys are looking at this completely the wrong way. We just got a brand new house and a free, all-expense paid vacation to the X-Mansion, home of Wolvie and the Danger Room. And let me tell you, that place is awesome. When I was with the X-Men-"

"Please, make it stop," Synch groaned. "Not another 'When I was with the X-Men' story."

"Oh Ev, you know you love them," she said, flashing him a brilliant smile.

"When my family goes on vacation we only stay at five star hotels and have the best of everything," Monet announced, looking directly at Jubilee. "Judging by the uniforms they wear and the fact that they allowed you as a member, it appears that having taste is not a requirement to being a X-Man. Staying at their home will be like living on the streets. I think I'll have father send the private jet over to pick me up," she droned in a bored tone as she examined her flawlessly manicured fingernails.

"Really?" Jubilee asked, her voice full of rosy excitement. "You're not just saying that to get my hopes up? Cause there's a pay phone right down the street. Here, I'll even give you the money," she offered, dumping a handful of quarters into the Moroccan beauty's hand. "Now off you go, Monet," she said, shooing her rival off. "Hurry! The sooner you call, the sooner you go away."

The dark haired teenage stared down at the change in her hand in dismay, her normal confidence faltering slightly. "I've never in my life used a payphone before," she muttered. "Well, desperate times, I suppose. Everett, will you walk with me?" M asked coyly, linking his arm with her own.

"Oh no, he's not going anywhere with you," Jubilee protested, grabbing Synch's other arm.

"Actually Jubilee, no one is. You are all staying put inside the Blackbird until we leave," Kitty instructed, walking up behind them.

"Your not going to help them search?" Everett asked, relieved to be free of the two girl's grips.

"Cyclops felt I would be more productive away from your Headmistress," she grumbled, leading them onto the X-Men's jet. "Besides, we realized leaving the six of you alone to your own devices was an inherently dumb idea," she teased, looking back at plasma wielding mutant. "I'm friends with Logan, Jubilee. I know the stories."

"Isn't she the one getting married?" Husk asked Skin as they boarded the ramp.

"I think so," he muttered.

"We should congratulate her," Paige decided, acting a little more like her normal, upbeat self.

The gray skinned Angelino stared at her in exasperation and shook his head. "Suck up."

* * *

Peter stood over the kitchen table fixing sandwiches while Illyana sat next to him, tugging at the lid of the strawberry jam. The steel-skinned Russian rested the peanut butter knife on the paper plate and lifted the jar from her hands, effortlessly twisting it open. While he was focused on the jam, the young girl snuck a quick look at Peter's face, then reached out for the knife. His large hand flew on top of it, covering the handle, causing hers to hover in mid air. 

"I want to make it," she pleaded, again reaching for the blade in his hand.

"Sorry, Snowflake," Piotr said firmly, cutting the crusts off their sandwiches and slicing them into triangular fourths. "You are much too little for such a big knife."

"But Mommy lets me make my own," she lied, reaching up to grab the knife. He placed it on the other side of the table, away from her grasp, and handed her a sandwich.

"Too late. All done."

"I don't want jam. I want butter," she pouted, accustomed to getting her way when it came to her father.

"A peanut butter and butter sandwich?" he asked lightly, ignoring the sour expression on her face. "I think we should stick with jam. That way, when Katya comes home we can tell her we had our daily requirement of fruits and vegetables."

"What vegetables?" the flaxen haired child sulked, slumping back in her chair and poking the Wonderbread with her index finger in distaste.

Peter grinned. "We'll make something up," he said mischievously, eliciting a grudging smile from her.

"Ack, sandwiches," Kurt observed as he and Amanda entered the kitchen. "Fortunately I picked up some real food," the fuzzy, blue mutant added, holding up a greasy paper sack.

"Heaven forbid he goes a day without a Gut Bomb," Amanda laughed, giving Illyana's ponytail an affectionate tug before sitting down across from her. "Hey, Pete. Where's Kitty today?" she asked, unloading the hamburgers while Nightcrawler went to the refrigerator to find them drinks.

"Mission," he said absently, watching perplexedly as Illyana rifled through the half-empty bag of fast food. The little blonde girl grabbed a handful of french fries in her tiny fist and dumped them on Peter's plate, then reached back and took another handful for herself.

"Vegetables," she explained proudly, noticing her father's mystified expression.

The steel-skinned mutant grinned and played along with her game, catching the ketchup packet Amanda tossed him and holding it up in triumph. "More vegetables," he declared, squeezing the red condiment next to her pile of fries.

"Hey, get your own fast food," Kurt complained good-naturedly, handing his girlfriend her diet pepsi.

"Kitty wouldn't let me!" he protested.

"Awww," Amanda sighed from her end of the table. "She has you well behaved."

"There's another word for that, Liebchen."

"Kurt!" Amanda warned, smacking him on the arm.

"I'm only joking," he griped, massaging the spot she had just hit.

"At least he's made a real commitment. When are you going to propose to me?"

"When you stop being so violent."

"So never."

"Ja."

Peter refocused his attention to the child sitting next to him, ill at ease with the undercurrent of resentment that accompanied the playful tone the couple sitting across from him normally used when bantering with one another. "Eat your sandwich, Snowflake," he instructed quietly.

"I still want butter," she complained, sullenly picking up one of the sandwich pieces.

"Good girl," Peter told her as she slowly chewed her food, a begrudging expression on her face.

"You know, Peter," Kurt interrupted, pointing a french fry accusingly at his friend, "This is all your fault."

"What is?"

"You and Katzchen. All this marriage stuff is putting idea's into Amanda's head. She already has our whole lives planned out. And the lives of our kids. And the lives of your kids." Amanda blushed as the German-born mutant continued his story. "I heard her and Kitty talking. They want to have babies at the same time. A boy and a girl, so they can grow up and get married and we can be in-laws.

"We were just joking around," Amanda explained, embarrassed her boyfriend had chosen to share this particular conversation.

"There is no need to worry, Kurt," Peter said lightheartedly, giving Amanda an encouraging smile. "It as not as though that will ever happen. There is no way I would let a child of mine marry a child of yours."

"Funny."

"Da, I thought so," Piotr agreed, prompting his German friend to throw a fry in his direction. Amanda slapped Kurt on the arm again, only lightly this time, her amusement winning out over her mortification.

"So how are the wedding plans coming?" she asked, trying to steer the conversation in a more suitable direction. "It's not much longer now."

"Too be honest, we haven't had much time to think about it. We have been otherwise occupied."

Nightcrawler smirked at his words. "Mien freud, don't you know you're supposed to save that stuff for the honeymoon?"

"Kurt!" Peter shushed, looking pointedly at his friend, "don't say things like that around- Illyana, what did I tell you about the knife!"

While the adults had been talking, the blonde haired child had snuck over to the other side of the table, determined to make herself a sandwich. Terrified of his little girl injuring herself, Peter snatched the knife away from her, accidentally lightly nicking the inside of her index finger as he pulled it away.

"You hurt me!" she cried, pulling away from Peter and cradling her finger with her good hand, holding it protectively under her chin as she glared daggers at him.

"No, I didn't...I would not, I, I am sorry," he stuttered, noticing the small trickle of blood run from her hands. He fell numbly into the chair behind him, his shoulders hunched and his face in his hands, hiding the look of despair mingled with guilt and grief in his tired eyes. "So, so sorry."

"It's ok," Illyana conceded, worry and trepidation filling her wide, sapphire eyes.

"No!" he yelled, his tone causing her to jump. "It's not. I-"

"Peter-" Amanda interjected, placing her hand on his shoulder, shocked at his strange behavior.

"I could have killed her!" he argued, shrugging her hand off. At his words, Illyana burst into tears, silently crying as the adults tried to calm her father.

"Peter, please," Amanda begged, moving over to comfort the little girl, who was standing very still, staring wide-eyed at the situation around her. "You're upsetting her," she added, looking toward her boyfriend for help.

"Peter, listen to her," Kurt broke in. "The wedding, all that's happening, it's very stressful. Why don't you go upstairs and get some rest? Amanda and I can watch Illyana."

"No," he argued, shaking his head stubbornly. "I am not going to-"

"It's ok, Daddy," Illyana spoke up. "You should go."

He stared searchingly at her and gave a weary nod, defeated. As he walked away, his heavy body dragging, Illyana slipped out of Amanda's hold and ran to her father, throwing her arms around his waist and clinging to him tightly. Peter stood woodenly, afraid to touch her, until she let go and ran back to Amanda.

"Come on old friend, let's go get you to sleep," Kurt said, clapping a three fingered hand on the Russian's broad back. "You'll feel better when you're all rested."

* * *

Piotr shifted uncomfortably in his empty bed, trying to push the day's incident from his mind, as he had done with the images of the past that threatened the life he was living know. Most of the time he could ignore them, but every so often, especially when he was alone, one would force his way back into his mind as he slept. Today was no different. The memory of the day he left the X-Men washed over him, as clearly if it was happening that very moment. 

_Piotr found her out by the pool, alone, sitting on one of the white plastic lounge chairs. She was wearing jeans and a red sweatshirt, hugging her knees to her chest, seemingly apathetic to the stinging drops of heavy rain pouring down on them. Peter thought she looked beautiful, soft and hazy in the ethereal glow of the rain, as though she had stepped out of a Sargent oil painting. He walked cautiously towards her, his wet sneakers squeaking against the concrete, and sat down in the lounger next to her. Kitty continued to stare ahead at the pool, watching the overflow of water seep across the ground._

_"Storm hasn't stopped the rain today. Maybe she's hoping it'll be cathartic," she mused bitterly, acknowledging his presence. "She's going to do the eulogy, Storm. I'd do it, but it's just too....Do you want to give one?" she asked quietly, looking at him for the first time. Piotr stayed silent, and she turned away. "No, of course not. That would involve actually talking."_

_Peter watched her pull her body in tighter, shivering from the cold. He took off his shirt, ignoring the rush of icy water against his skin, and held it up over her wet, matted hair, trying to shield her from the rain. "I don't need your shirt!" she yelled, shoving his hand away from her. Kitty closed her eyes and laid back against the lounge chair, turning herself intangible and letting the stinging drops of water fall harmlessly through her. "The rain can't hurt me. I can't even feel it," she murmured, reaching out to take his hand "I can keep you safe from-"_

_Her words died as he wretched his hand away from hers only a moment after they touched. Wearily, Kitty lifted herself off the chair and walked over to the pool, turning her back to him and folding her arms protectively over her chest. "Do you even love me, Peter?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Did you ever? Or did you stop when...do you blame me?"_

_"No."_

_Kitty watched, her chocolate colored eyes wide and full of anguish, as he got off the chair and walked over to her, until they were only inches away. "Why wont you talk to me? Why wont you let me touch you? Please," she begged, "I just, I need you to hold me." She leaned into him, watching as he drew his hand up to touch her cheek, only to pull away at the last moment. Her shoulders fell and she closed her eyes in disappointment. Piotr watched them open again, full of anger, as her intangible body passed through him on her way back to the lounge chair. He drank in the sight of her, lying there, eyes closed, one last time before turning to retreat back into the mansion. He never knew how long she stayed by the pool that day, only that when he looked out the window after packing his suitcase she was still down there, alone in the rain._

Peter woke up sweating, full of self-loathing, with a dull ache in his heart. He closed his eyes and focused on shoving the incident to the back of his mind, trying his best not to think about it again.

* * *

"It's so romantic, marrying your first love," Paige sighed as the Blackbird cut through the clear night sky. The Kentuckian metamorph had chosen to sit next to Kitty on the way back to Westchester, much to her brother's chagrin. Sam sat one aisle over and back, watching his sister like a hawk, the only Guthrie on the plane still reeling from the morning's close call. 

"So what does your dress look like?" Jubilee asked from the seat in front of them. She had slipped out of her seatbelt long ago and was propped up on her knees, peering backwards over her headrest.

"I haven't picked it out yet," Kitty realized, remembering she had never gotten a dress. The girls stared at her in shock.

"But that's the most important part," Paige gasped, gapping at her.

"One would think that would be the actual marriage," M said dryly from her seat Sean had placed her in next to Jubilee, momentarily forgetting to pretend she was uninterested in the conversation happening around her. The Asian firecracker glowered at Monet and took her gum out of her mouth, ready to drop it on her unsuspecting teammate's hair.

"Jubilee!" Kitty hissed, pushing her hand away from M's head. "No more of that," she warned, watching the Gen X'er lean over and stick the gum on the bottom of the seat before getting a fresh piece. "And she has a point. Getting married is the best thing about a wedding."

"So the dress doesn't matter at all?" Jubes asked, raising her eyebrows in disbelief.

"Well, maybe a little," Kitty conceded with a grin.

"You know, the two of us could help you plan your wedding," Paige said excitedly, ideas already forming in her head. "What kind of dress do you want? A big, pouffy, white one or a-"

"Why does it always have to be white?" Jubilee blanched. "Why not have it be a fun color?"

"Like what? Yellow?"

"Works for me."

"Ha," M muttered from her seat.

"You have something better?" Jubliee demanded. Monet gave an exasperated sigh and turned to face Paige and Kitty.

"Miss Pryde, did you design your uniform?" she asked. Kitty nodded, and the Moroccan girl stared appraisingly at her deep blue bodysuit with gold trim, boots, and belt. "Your dress should be classy, but simple. Silk, floor length, sleeveless. Draped back and neckline, not showing off too much cleavage. Fitted, but not skin tight," she stated, then look pointedly at Husk. "Not pouffy," she said, turning a critical eye to Jubilee. "White."

"I have to give her credit, girls. She's good."

"Obviously," Monet agreed. "Of course, a dress like that will seem out of place when these two sophisticates have you square dancing to a fiddle playing "Turkey In the Straw" for your first dance as husband and wife," she shot, excusing herself and striding over to observe Logan and Scott steering the jet.

"Yeah, so I don't like her," Kitty announced as the dark haired girl walked away.

Husked grinned. "Join the club, right Jubes?"

Jubilee rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. "Let's put it this way; Kitty, in all your years as a X-Man, have you ever killed anyone?"

"No."

"Have you ever wanted to?

Kitty teeth clenched and she turned away to stare out the window, a faraway look in her eyes as she retreated into her own emotions. "Once."

The two Generation X girls scrutinized her, wondering what they had done to upset her. "Miss Pryde?" Husk asked reluctantly, getting no response.

Jubilee sighed and snapped her gum. "It's times like these I miss the magical pooka."

* * *

"We did good. She had fun. You think she had fun, right?" Amanda asked, settling into her boyfriend's arms. 

"I think she's still upset."

"Kurt, she's an eight year old girl, and you made her watch an old, black and white Errol Flynn movie about pirates. She wasn't upset, she was bored. That makes her normal. Although you know what? I think she may have a talent for magik. I sensed an air about her."

"I more worried about Peter," he mused, still concerned about his friend's earlier erratic behavior.

"I know! Where did that all come from today?"

"I don't know. Has Kitty mentioned anything to you about the two of them having trouble?"

"No, but then again I don't know much about the wedding," she told him, a hint of bitterness in her tone.

"You're still upset she didn't ask you to be a bridesmaid."

"I'm not upset! A little disappointed, sure, but I understand. Rogue's her best friend and Storm's practically a second mother to her. And of course Illyana has to be the maid-of-honor. It's just that, and I know I shouldn't feel this way, but it's just that it's another one of those things that makes me feel like the rest of them see me as just your girlfriend and not their friend."

"But you and Kitty get along well. And you and-" he searched for another name, to no avail. Amanda pursed her lips and glared at him, annoyance brimming in her eyes.

"Look, the point is, I'm expendable. No one wants to be my friend because they figure if we break up they'll never see me again. Maybe if you didn't keep giving them the impression that I'm just an occasional fling-"

"Maybe if you didn't leave every time Margali snaps her fingers," he argued, taking a breath to calm himself down. "Look, you're going to New York tomorrow, and I wont see you until the wedding, then your off to Europe. Do we have to waste our time talking about this now?" he asked lightly, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"What would rather do, hold it in until it explodes? We shouldn't have even waited this long," she chided gently. "I love you, fuzzy. I don't want this to fall apart. So you're going to sit down and we are going to work this out, even if it takes all night, she ordered, pushing him onto the couch.

"I like the sound of that..."

"Ahem," Peter said, walking into the room. "Sorry to interrupt, but I was looking for my daughter. She can't fall asleep until Kitty or I tuck her in."

"Amanda already took her to bed," Kurt told him, speaking in a concerned tone that the steel-skinned Russian slightly resented. "She was falling asleep-"

"-From boredom-" Amanda muttered.

"- During the movie, so we decided to call it an early night," he explained.

"Oh. Thank you then, for watching her."

"It was welcome change from me and Kurt's usual movie nights," Amanda said lightly, trying to ease the tension in the room. "I actually got to have a mature conversation."

"Ja, it was no trouble. How are feeling Peter?" Nightcrawler asked cautiously.

"I'm fine, I was simply tired, just as you thought." The Russian born mutant ran his hand through his hair, nervous about his next question. "How...how is Illyana?" He asked, his eyes focused on the ground.

"You know kids; they think band-aids are magic. As soon as you put them on everything is all better," Amanda told him, pleased to see him crack a tiny smile as soon as he heard his little girl was all right. "And she practically fell asleep right away," she continued, hoping to make him feel better. "You should have heard her, Peter, it was the sweetest thing. As I was tucking her in she turned to me and said in the cutest little voice "I miss Mama and Papa"."

The flicker of a smile disappeared from his face, replaced by an emotionless mask. "Thank you, Amanda," he said flatly, "for taking such good care of her. You have done so much, I feel selfish to ask for anything else."

"What is it?" she pressed

"We'll help you with whatever you need," her boyfriend agreed.

"Would you be kind enough not to mention any of this to Kitty?" he asked, struggling with the words. "She does not deserve to have me cause her any more pain."

Kurt and Amanda looked at each other, both unsure how to respond. "Of course," Nightcrawler decided, his girlfriend nodding in agreement.

"Spaceeba," Piotr muttered, wandering out of the room, unaware his two friends were continuing to watch him with concern. Peter made his way up the stairs, pausing in the doorframe of his and Kitty's room. He stared at the empty bed, then shut the door, making his way to Illyana's room and taking a seat in the armchair in the corner of her room, guarding her as she slept.

* * *

"See you in the morning guys," Bobby said as the three X-Men reached the landing after trudging up the stairs. 

"Off to dream about a certain attractive yet aloof headmistress?" Beast ribbed.

"Come on, Hank. Think about it. Frost? Iceman? Our names alone prove we're perfect for each other."

"I wish you luck with that, my friend," Hank called out as disappeared into his room. "You'll need it," he added with a toothy grin. "Goodnight, Katherine, and alas, for parting is such sweet sorrow," Beast said congenially.

"Night, Hank," Kitty yawned, offering a weary smile as her teammate bounded away to his room. She continued down the opposite end of the hall, stepping lightly, until she reached Illyana's door. Kitty phased inside and looked in on the little girl, finding her sleeping fitfully, meek whimpers escaping from her lips. With only the light of the moon to guide her, she made her way nimbly across the room, stooping down to pick up the tattered, well-loved stuffed animal lying at the side of the bed. The russet-haired woman sat down gingerly on the edge of the mattress and wrapped her child's arms around her green stuffed dragon, stroking her arm soothingly until the whimpering stopped and a serene, dreamy smile softened her face. "Goodnight, Snowflake," she whispered, her bright eyes, the color of warm coffee, gazing lovingly down at her slumbering child. Behind her she heard the groan of the armchair in the corner and turned to find her love asleep, his face cloaked in the shadows.

"Oh, Peter, were you up keeping watch over our little one?" she asked in her hushed voice, treading over to Illyana's closet. "Or where you waiting for me to come home?" she wondered aloud, standing on her tiptoes to reach the blanket on the top shelf. "You know I'll always come back to you," she whispered, placing the powder blue fleece blanket over him, the same dreamy smile Illyana had beginning to play at the corner of his lips. Kitty bent over, kissing him tenderly atop his head, lightly running her smooth fingers down the side of his face. "It's you I worry about," she sighed, pulling her hand away from him and letting the tips of her fingers rest on her chest.

She walked away, looking back upon her sleeping family one last time, a bittersweet smile on her face. "Sleep tight," she whispered.

Kitty padded across the hall and into her and Peter's room, phasing out of her boots and uniform as she made her way to the bed. She collapsed onto the mattress, unaccustomed with how big it seemed without Peter's broad body taking up most of it. Kitty fidgeted, uncomfortable with all the space surrounding her. She pulled the blankets over her, cold in spite of the August heat, missing the warmth of strong arms encircling her body. Still feeling restless, she fought the urge to dart across the hall and wake up her fiancee so she could spend the night in his embrace. Instead, she hurried over to the dresser and pulled out his old red sweatshirt, slipping it on over her bra and panties. Peter's scent, the smell of fresh air and pine, was embedded into the fabric, comforting her and tricking her mind into feeling not so alone. The lithe, brown eyed woman climbed back into the bed, grabbing her purple stuffed dragon from his spot on the nightstand on her way back and clutching it to her chest. "Guess it's just you and me tonight, Lockheed," she sighed wistfully, drifting off to sleep alone in her cold, empty bed, wishing Peter was beside her.

* * *

Kitty was awakened by the sound of tiny feet bounding across the floor and the swaying of the bed as a light figure climbed in. "I had a bad dream," Illyana whimpered, crawling next to her and clutching onto her arm. 

"Daddy's in your room," the brunette X-Man said groggily. "Did you wake him?"

"Uncle Kurt said he needs his sleep."

Kitty rubbed her eyes, confused by her statement. "How'd you get this?" she questioned, noticing the pink bandage wrapped around her index finger.

"Accident."

"Poor thing," she fussed, putting a comforting arm around her daughter's shoulder.

"Mommy?" Illyana asked tentatively, her lower lip beginning to tremble,"I don't think I did a good job taking care of Daddy today."

"Ohh, that's not true," she shushed, giving her shoulder a squeeze, "I'm sure you did your best."

The blonde haired girl looked down, thick tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. "He's not ok, is he?"

"He's fine," Kitty soothed, masking her own worry as she comforted her child. "He's gonna be fine."

"You can't leave again like you did today, all right?" she begged. "He's always better when you're here."

"I won't leave," she vowed, holding her daughter even tighter, feeling tears starting to well up in her own eyes.

"Promise?" she sniffled.

"Promise. But on one condition," Kitty said, kissing the top of the Russian child's head. "You try and go to bed. Little girls need their sleep."

"Can I stay here?"

"Of course," Kitty soothed, settling back into bed, Illyana still clutching her arm with both hands.

"Can we put Lockheed over here?" the small child whispered, patting the empty space beside her. Kitty moved her stuffed dragon to the other side of Illyana, using it as a buffer between her and the side of the bed, protecting her from any approaching monsters.

"All safe. You didn't bring Martin?" she asked her little girl, surprised she would leave her room at night without the green dragon she had given her years ago.

"I left him with Daddy," she explained, snuggling up against her mother, reading for sleep to claim her.

"What a sweet girl," Kitty cooed, pulling the blankets on top of Illyana. "Love you, munchkin," she yawned.

"Love you, too," she mumbled, at peace in her mother's arms as she and Kitty fell asleep. Across the hall, Piotr continued to sit alone in his daughter's empty room, a stuffed green dragon sitting on the dresser, watching over him as he slept.

* * *

Arg! Again, sorry this took so long. I'm still not completely happy with it, but I don't think I'm in the mindset to be able to improve it much. The next chapter should hopefully be up around two weeks form now. Oh, and the magical pooka Jubilee mentioned is real. I didn't make him up, he's from Hama's run of Gen X, and his name was Reginald. And to be fair, no one misses him. 

oldprydefan- Good to hear from you! Does this mean we can expect another chapter of 'Paper Flowers' in the near future? I miss that story. And yes, I feel the Joss love. He used to be my hero, but Astonishing has elevated him to my God. I must build a shrine to worship him and burn Chuck Austin issues in sacrifice. But seriously, when I read the end to Astonishing, I threw the comic on my bed and started jumping up and down, then stopped, picked up the book, and continued to jump with it in hand. So much happiness, but also a little apprehension of what might happen next. Oh, and have you read 'Deathless' over in the X-Men ff section? It's an amazing story, on par if not better than Astonishing. I'm absolutely sure you will love it, it's so well-crafted and executed perfectly. Plus, there's some pretty gut wrenching Piotr-Kitty moments, so go read it now! Anyway, thanks so much for the review, and, again, it's good to hear from you. I really value your opinion, as you are one the few people whose love for the Kitty-Piotr pairing rivals my own. Thanks again. Now go read 'Deathless'!

The Uncanny R-Man- You cracked my surprise guest star code! Generation X probably wont show up much after this, they were just a nice little break from the monotony of writing the same characters for so long. Plus, all the X-books seem to be on Emma Frost overload at the moment, so I guess she's sort of seeping into my brain. As for the Magik thing, it's not much longer now. My outlines getting shuffled around a bit, so I'm not sure on the exact chapter, but it is coming. Thanks for reviewing!

Leafee LeBeau- Glad you liked it! I love the big guy, too, sometimes a little too much. I made a wallpaper with him on it to help me when I can't write this story, and occasionally I end up just starring at it. It's surprisingly easy to make him adorable, I just write him the way he was in the classic comic era before secret wars and Lobdell destroyed him. Thanks for the review!

DemonRogue13- Glad you liked it! Hopefully it will continue to make sense, since occasionally I lose focus:) Thanks for the review!

KittieKat8- I swear, I'm not trying to torture the readers, just the characters! Good luck on your fic! Do you have a title for it? I keep an eye out for it. Thanks for the review!  
Lucas'sgirl- Is your username from 'One Tree Hill'? I just started watching that show last week and now it's already one of my favorites. I can't believe I missed out on pretty much the whole first season. Glad you liked the last chapter. Thanks for the review! Oh, and romy is coming next :)

Jeremy Harper- So there was a little more about what's going on in Peter's head, but there's still a lot more I have planned out for him, so I couldn't give it all away yet. There will be a memory of him in Genosha coming up soon, maybe in the next chapter. It should give a few more clues as to why he left. There is a reason why he never directly speaks or thinks about what he's feeling, which was mentioned in the chapter, so infer from that what you will. As for Rouge's powers, they'll come into play later on in the story. Plus, I just don't find her as interesting without her Ms. Marvel's abilities, like she is now in the 616 universe. Although it was never explained why she got her powers back, but it must have affected her brain, since in her solo series she's been acting about as intelligent as a sixth grader. Thanks for the review!

ishandahalf- Chad is Whitney's brother? Whitney is PREGNANT! That made me laugh hysterically for like twenty minutes. And I got to see the last two episodes! So happy. But this new Fox? No, no, no! Fox must be foxy. It's a requirement for the role. It's even in his characters name! This actor is even worse than the new Belle over in "Days of our Lives." Although I'm accepting of the new Theresa. Do you know if she was on another soap before, maybe Sunset Beach? She looks familiar. But Teresa pregnant with two different babies? That's weird, even for 'Passions'. Hell, what am I thinking? Nothing has ever been too wierd for 'Passions'. But why wont Paloma die? Martin, too. Although I love the fact that they're trying to make you think Luis, Sheridan, et. all are dead in the jungle, then show you a commercial for next weeks episodes where Luis is proposing to Sheridan while the others watch. But Chad and Whitney! The thought of them still makes me giggle, and feel sick to my stomach at the same time. Anyway, the romy is coming next chapter, so not too far off. But there was some Kurmanda to tide you over (I know, it's just not the same as romy though, is it?) But at least there was no Scouge! Although, despite Emma Frost showing up, there will be no Scott-Emma (which I suppose would be called Scemma?) I'm a Bobby-Emma fan personally, since that boy needs a girl. Thanks for reviewing!

B- I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for reviewing this and 'Moving Forward'. I think my writers block is mainly because I want to get to the ending chapters of the story, and there's less fluff to write in the upcoming chapters. Again, thanks for the reviews!


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